Just in case you need sources: Kagi is using [1] Yandex and paying them as of June 2025. This is a long-standing position, which was also voiced [2] in November 2024.

Regarding Yandex. The founder sold [3] the assets (seemingly including the index and Yandex trademark) to VK (Mail.ru) in 2022. VK are known supporters of the war [4]. The founder subsequently renamed [5] his original company to Nebius Group and pivoted towards compute for AI.

[1]: Kagi Community AMA by the founder. Timestamped link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbmMUGSFldQ

[2] Kagi forums, a response by the founder. https://kagifeedback.org/d/5445-reconsider-yandex-integratio...

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yandex#2020s

[4] https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/26/22951307/us-sanctions-rus...

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebius_Group

Yandex is as entrenched in Russia as anyone could be. It's quickly becoming the state's goto IT company with products for all aspects of everyday life (many of them in leading market positions). It's the 'everything' company in there that is fully controlled by the state China-style.

> Also didn't Yandex "leave" Russia (legally)?

I may be wrong here, please correct me if needed, but from what I understood from the news it was actually reverse of that. Yandex during the "smaller" war period, had a Netherlands parent holding to play pretend they are European company, and last year that holding sold their shares back to some Russian companies. So it looks like that it's Europe left Yandex, and not Yandex left Russia. But again, the whole house of shell cards is so complex there that I'm not sure about it.