Putin says Russian companies can now use foreign data centers following wave of major Ukraine drone strikes

Putin’s emergency decree creates a temporary route for Russian companies to host or run services in overseas data centers. It responds to attacks that damaged Russian digital infrastructure. The measure is significant because it relaxes Russia’s push for digitally sovereign, domestically controlled computing.

Companies still cannot simply leave Russian facilities whenever they choose. The government must approve each arrangement. The article says officials will likely examine whether enough domestic computing capacity remains before granting permission. That keeps the state involved in deciding when foreign hosting is justified.

The policy shows how attacks have created pressure inside Russia’s digital system. Overseas facilities could provide an alternative when domestic sites are damaged or unavailable. However, the approval requirement means foreign hosting remains an emergency exception, not a general replacement for Russia’s own data centers.

The 10% rule means operators cannot sell or use all their computing capacity normally. One-tenth must remain available for the government during an emergency. This creates a national reserve of computing power that officials can call on when critical needs arise.

The government could demand that reserved capacity with 24 hours’ notice. Operators would then have to hand over that portion, potentially interrupting or reducing services for commercial customers. The article does not specify exactly which government activities would use it, only that the capacity is reserved for emergency use.

The requirement gives Russia more control over scarce data-center resources during attacks or other crises. It also places a direct burden on operators and customers. Companies may face sudden capacity reductions, while the state gains a guaranteed computing buffer without building all of it separately.

Ukraine’s intensified actions affected three major Yandex facilities in Sasovo, Kaluga, and Vladimir. The facilities supported Yandex services and infrastructure used by other organizations. Damage therefore reached beyond one company’s own websites or applications.

The attacks took some Yandex services offline and disrupted services operated by third parties through Yandex’s infrastructure. Sasovo also housed two of Yandex’s three major supercomputers. Those machines were instrumental to model training, and one of the three supercomputers ranked 19th globally in a 2021 study.

The article says all three supercomputers are believed to remain intact. They may have been relocated or may be in the process of being moved. The incident shows how a physical strike on a few facilities can affect online services and advanced computing at the same time.

In general, a data center is a facility containing computer systems, storage, networking equipment, and supporting power and cooling systems. It processes and stores data for online services. The article’s Yandex example shows why these sites matter: they can support both the operator’s services and outside organizations.

When many customers use one provider’s infrastructure, they share a physical and technical base. Damage to that base can interrupt the provider’s own services and the services of third parties. The article reports that attacks on Yandex facilities took some Yandex services offline and affected other services operated through Yandex infrastructure.

This concentration makes data centers powerful but vulnerable points. A small number of facilities can support large amounts of computing and many digital products. The reported disruption helps explain why Russia is considering overseas hosting and even underground facilities.

Russia is considering two ways to reduce the danger created by attacks on its digital infrastructure. One is physical protection: putting data centers underground. The other is geographic separation: allowing companies to use facilities outside Russia temporarily.

The article says state-owned telecoms company Rostelcom is discussing underground possibilities with mining company Norilsk. A governor has also suggested building data centers inside open-pit coal mines. Separately, Putin’s decree allows overseas use when the government approves it. These options move computing away from exposed or damaged facilities.

The choices reflect immediate pressure rather than a normal expansion plan. Three major Yandex facilities were affected, and Russian operators must reserve 10% of capacity for emergency government use. Underground sites could shield infrastructure, while foreign facilities could provide backup capacity. Both approaches complicate Russia’s effort to keep digital infrastructure domestically controlled.

Data centers are important targets because they concentrate computing, online services, and data infrastructure in physical locations. Disabling one facility can affect many services at once. The article describes modern warfare increasingly reaching these sites rather than focusing only on traditional military assets.

Ukraine’s strikes affected three major Yandex facilities in Sasovo, Kaluga, and Vladimir. Some Yandex services went offline, along with services operated by third parties through Yandex’s infrastructure. Sasovo also housed supercomputers used for model training. Russia had previously struck Ukrainian data-center facilities, and Ukraine moved many critical services into overseas cloud infrastructure.

These events make resilience a strategic issue. Countries may need protected, distributed, or overseas capacity when local sites become targets. Russia is exploring underground facilities and has permitted approved foreign hosting. The shift shows how digital infrastructure now affects both civilian services and wartime capability.

Digital sovereignty means a country aims to control the digital infrastructure and computing capacity on which its services depend. The article links Russia’s emergency decree to its major effort to become digitally sovereign. That effort favors domestic data centers rather than dependence on facilities elsewhere.

Allowing companies to use overseas data centers creates a practical safety valve after attacks. It can keep services running when Russian facilities are damaged or domestic capacity is unavailable. However, the decree still requires government approval, showing that foreign hosting is being treated as a controlled exception rather than the preferred model.

The arrangement makes sovereignty harder because some computing would operate outside Russia’s own infrastructure. The article presents this as a major shift caused by the severity of attacks. Russia is therefore balancing two goals: protecting access to computing and preserving domestic control over it.