After Ukrainian drone attacks on data centers operated by the Russian technology company Yandex , claims began circulating online that the strikes had disrupted or even halted the activity of Russian propaganda bots. These accounts are often accused of spreading disinformation or artificially amplifying content on social media.

During the Warsaw Security Forum, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also suggested that the attacks on Yandex data centers had disrupted bot activity, saying "there was less hate, less division, and fewer provocations [because] there were fewer bots."

In response to BBC Verify , Zelenskyy's office said that, rather than referring to reduced bot activity, the president was "talking about the atmosphere on social media." The office added that it had seen "reports of fewer provocative and hateful comments" from many social media users.

So far, however, there is no clear evidence linking the attacks to a decline in bot activity.

According to Josef Holnburger, managing director…