Yes, it can. I have replaced more than a couple of poorly made Chinese gel-cells after fairly brief service.
Also, you can extend your UPS's service time before the battery is depleted by turning off the monitor and settings the Power Management settings to power-down hard drives after 10-20 minutes.
In my experience, the ratings on UPS systems is wildly optimistic regarding their backup capabilities.
Also; the protection against lines surges caused by even distant lightning strikes is fairly minimal.
If this is in your home, you might consider installing a 'whole house' surge arrester.
Depending on the maker, they offer up to $10,000 in damage insurance to cover any losses not prevented by their devices.
The plug-in strips with 'surge protection' have a 50 cent component in them to clamp spikes to ~200VAC and these even get tired with repeated surges and eventually become totally ineffective.
If the battery checks out OK, the circuitry responsible for switching from AC line to backup mode may have already been damaged during the storm.
Switching to the 'surge protector' mode really only provides mildly conditioned AC line and involves no active electronics.
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