Russian tech companies are scrambling to harden and hide data centers after Ukrainian drone strikes damaged facilities housing AI supercomputers. The attacks knocked out data centers operated by Russian giants Yandex, Sberbank, and VKontakte, forcing Yandex to relocate all three of its main supercomputers.
Disruptions affected payment apps, e-commerce, streaming, and ride-hailing services for millions of users. Putin signed a decree on November 2 ordering Russian operators to reserve 10% of capacity for emergency state needs. The decree authorizes a government commission to approve the use of foreign data centers, reversing previous restrictions.
State-owned Rostelcom is discussing moving data centers underground with mining company Norilsk, while a regional governor proposed building data centers inside open-pit coal mines with parks above for camouflage. These drastic measures show the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to asymmetric warfare. Developers and enterprises relying on Russian cloud services should brace for potential outages and slower infrastructure upgrades as companies prioritize physical security over performance.
