Frightened by UAVs: Moscow court orders Yandex to remove image of Rosneft plant
Date: 2025-01-03 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: WORLD
The Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow granted the prosecutor's claim, ordering Yandex to remove the image of the Ryazan Oil Refinery, which is part of Rosneft, from the Yandex Maps service. According to Mediazona, this is due to attacks by Ukrainian drones. The corresponding decision was published on the website of Moscow courts.
As stated in the prosecutor's claim, the plant, located at 8 Yuzhny Industrial Hub in Ryazan, is included in the register of enterprises of the defense industry complex of Russia. The satellite images in Yandex Maps clearly display the structural elements of the plant: workshops, sites with tanks and other objects. The prosecutor's office asked Yandex to remove these images, but the company did not comply with the request, which led to the appeal to the court.
The court's decision notes that the enterprise ensures uninterrupted operation, providing the Russian army and navy with materials necessary for participation in the war against Ukraine. The plant was attacked by Ukrainian drones in March, May, July and August 2024.
"As a result, the plant's infrastructure and its employees were damaged, the court reported," the publication says.
As noted, the court came to the conclusion that the availability of satellite images of the enterprise makes it "maximum vulnerable to enemy weapons", "negatively affects the timely supply of materials" to the Russian Armed Forces, and "undermines the defense capability" of the aggressor country.
As a result, the court ordered Yandex to remove or edit the image of the plant within a month after the decision comes into force in order to hide its structural elements.
"The court ordered "to exclude information access" to the infrastructure "by removing/retouching graphic images of the enterprise's components (workshops, compressor stations, areas with tanks, other elements of the plant)" from Yandex Maps. The company was also ordered to pay a state fee," writes Mediazona.
