Ukraine’s drone strikes spur hasty Russian plans for underground data centers
Russia is hastily planning to move data centers underground following Ukrainian drone strikes that damaged facilities housing AI supercomputers and disrupted cloud services. State-owned telecommunications company Rostelcom has discussed the possibility with nickel and palladium mining company Norilsk. This move aims to protect Russia's digital infrastructure from further attacks.
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- ✓ Russia allows private data centers to use foreign facilities temporarily.
- ✓ President Putin ordered private data centers to set aside 10% of capacity for IT infrastructure support.
- ✓ Rostelcom discussed moving data centers underground with Norilsk.
What changed
Russia has officially allowed the use of foreign data centers temporarily in response to the drone strikes.
Live updates
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Russia plans underground data centers after Ukraine drone strikes
Russia is hastily planning to move data centers underground following Ukrainian drone strikes that damaged facilities housing AI supercomputers and disrupted cloud services. State-owned telecommunications company Rostelcom has discussed the possibility with nickel and palladium mining company Norilsk. This move aims to protect Russia's digital infrastructure from further attacks.
Why it matters
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has expanded into the digital realm, with Ukraine targeting Russian data centers. These strikes have disrupted services for millions of users and impacted Russia's AI capabilities. Russia is now seeking to harden and hide its data centers to prevent future damage.
What is confirmed
- Russia allows private data centers to use foreign facilities temporarily.
- President Putin ordered private data centers to set aside 10% of capacity for IT infrastructure support.
- Rostelcom discussed moving data centers underground with Norilsk.
Still unconfirmed
- Russia may use mine sites for underground data centers.
What to watch next
- Implementation details of Russia's underground data center plans
- Impact of foreign data center usage on Russian digital sovereignty
- Further Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian data centers
confidence 85%Sources used for this update (16)
- arstechnica.com — Ars Technica - Serving the Technologist since 1998. News, reviews, and ...
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- Reuters — Putin orders private data centres to set aside 10% of capacity to support IT infrastructure
- Bloomberg — Russia Allows Use of Foreign Data Centers in Wake of Attacks
- Geopolitical Futures — Daily Memo: Russian Digital Security, Polish Constitutional Crisis
- arstechnica.com — Russia looks to hide data centers underground as Ukrainian ...
- www.techradar.com — Russia wants to camouflage its data centers to stop them ...
- Ars Technica — Ukraine’s drone strikes spur hasty Russian plans for underground data centers
- Yahoo — Putin says Russian companies can now use foreign data centers following wave of major Ukraine drone strikes
- Briefs Finance — Russia okays temporary use of foreign data centers
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