Russian ministry recommends underground data centers following Ukrainian drone strikes - The Kyiv Independent

A data center is a physical facility that houses computer servers, storage systems, networking equipment, power supplies, and cooling systems. Together, these machines store information and process requests. They are the behind-the-scenes foundation for many online services.

Data centers can support banking, websites, email, social media, cloud software, video platforms, and artificial-intelligence development. When someone opens an app or uses an online service, data centers help deliver the requested information and handle the computing work.

The article highlights why these facilities matter during conflict. Russian data centers support banking and online services, but they may also affect AI development and military technology. That makes them important national infrastructure, not merely buildings filled with computers. Russia is therefore considering stronger protection, including underground locations, camouflage, reinforced structures, electronic warfare, and drone defenses.

Between October 8 and October 18, Ukrainian drones struck several Russian data-center facilities. The targets included three Yandex data centers, a Sberbank facility under construction, and a data center belonging to social-media company VK. The attacks pushed Russia to reconsider how these facilities are built and protected.

Russia's Digital Development Ministry proposed underground data centers that could be camouflaged from the air and equipped with drone defenses. Its guidelines cover existing, planned, and under-construction facilities. They set protection standards for three tiers, based on how serious a site's loss would be.

For existing centers, the recommendations include reducing visibility from the air and using layered protection. That means reinforced structures, electronic-warfare measures, and drone-defense systems. The proposals reflect a shift from treating data centers as ordinary commercial buildings to treating some as strategic infrastructure vulnerable to long-range attacks.

The attacks affected five facilities in total. Three belonged to Yandex, one was a Sberbank data center under construction, and one belonged to VK, a major social-media company. The strikes showed that several important parts of Russia's digital infrastructure could be reached in a short period.

The geographic concentration is even more striking. Serhiy Petrenko, former head of Yandex Ukraine, estimated that around 80% of Russia's data centers are located in Moscow and the surrounding region. This figure describes a large share of the country's computing and storage capacity gathered in one area.

That concentration helps explain Russia's urgency. Moscow and its nearby facilities are within reach of Ukrainian long-range drones, according to the article. If multiple centers in the same region are threatened or damaged, the country may have fewer nearby alternatives for maintaining digital services and recovering operations.

Concentrating digital infrastructure in one region creates a common vulnerability. If many data centers sit around Moscow, an attacker does not need to search across the entire country to threaten a large share of Russia's computing and storage capacity. The article identifies this region as being within reach of Ukrainian long-range drones.

The recent strikes illustrate the mechanism. Between October 8 and October 18, drones hit three Yandex data centers, a Sberbank facility under construction, and a VK data center. These sites belonged to different organizations, but their proximity to the same broad region exposed them to a similar threat.

Geographic concentration can also make recovery harder if several facilities face danger at once. The article does not quantify resulting outages, but it warns that damage could disrupt banking and online services and affect AI development and military technology. Russia's proposed underground sites and layered defenses aim to reduce this exposure.

Important data centers carry digital services and computing work that can affect the wider economy and government. Their loss may interrupt banking and online services, but the article emphasizes that the consequences could extend much further. Digital infrastructure can support research, administration, and technology development.

The article specifically warns that strikes could set back Russia's AI development and affect military technology. This follows from the importance of the systems hosted or supported by these facilities. A damaged site may therefore reduce more than convenience; it could interfere with projects that depend on continued computing and data access.

The exact scale of any setback is not given. Still, Russia's three-tier system treats the most important sites as strategic facilities whose loss could disrupt key state functions for an hour or more. That classification shows why Moscow is recommending stronger protection and considering underground locations for critical infrastructure.

Underground facilities can be harder to see and reach from the air than ordinary above-ground buildings. Cover from surrounding earth or rock may provide physical protection against aerial bombardment. It can also reduce a facility's visible profile, making it more difficult to identify as a valuable target.

The article gives two specific proposals. Russia's Digital Development Ministry recommended underground, camouflaged data centers with drone defenses. Separately, Kemerovo Oblast governor Ilya Seredyuk proposed placing data centers inside depleted open-pit mines and quarries because they offer natural protection from aerial bombardment.

These locations would not be the only defense. Guidance for existing facilities also calls for reinforced structures, electronic-warfare measures, and layered drone defenses. The article does not claim that underground sites are invulnerable. It presents them as one way to reduce exposure while Russia responds to recent drone strikes.

During an attack, digital systems can remain available when computing, storage, power, and network operations are protected or transferred to another facility. Backup centers can take over some work if a primary site is damaged. Redundant copies of important data can also help restore services, although the article does not describe Russia's specific backup arrangements.

Geographic distribution is important because separate locations are less likely to face the same strike simultaneously. If facilities are spread across regions, an attack on one site need not disable the whole service. Underground construction, reinforced structures, electronic warfare, and drone defenses can provide additional protection at each location.

The article highlights the danger of the opposite pattern: around 80% of Russia's data centers are estimated to be concentrated around Moscow. That region is within reach of Ukrainian long-range drones. Wider distribution and protected backup facilities could therefore reduce single-region vulnerability, while supporting banking, online services, AI, and military technology.