Ukraine Drone Strikes Force Russia to Bury Data Centers and Reserve 10% Capacity
Ukrainian drone strikes push Russia to bury data centers, reserve 10% of capacity for the state and reconsider its ban on foreign cloud infrastructure.
Summary
After months of near-continuous Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, including data centers since late September 2026, Ukraine retaliated against military and infrastructure targets across Russia. Strikes damaged or disabled data centers operated by Yandex, state-owned Sberbank, VKontakte and Russia’s Ministry of Finance, disrupting cloud services for millions across payment and digital banking apps, e-commerce, video streaming, ride-hailing and food delivery. Yandex relocated all three main AI supercomputers after their hosting facilities were targeted. State-owned telecom company Rostelcom is discussing underground data centers with nickel and palladium miner Norilsk. A separate regional proposal would place facilities in open-pit coal mines and camouflage them with green public parks.
On November 2, 2026, Putin ordered operators to reserve 10% of available space and computing capacity for emergency state use. A special government commission may also authorize foreign data centers after consulting Russia’s Federal Security Service, reversing the Sovereign Internet Law’s block on Russian companies using cloud infrastructure abroad. The decree exposes a wartime weakness in Russia’s closed, hyper-centralized internet, concentrated among companies such as Yandex. Ukraine’s decentralized services have remained more resilient after years of attacks because crucial energy and telecommunications nodes were dispersed and supporting infrastructure buried. Shortly after the February 2022 full-scale invasion, Amazon and Microsoft moved Ukrainian government resources and other critical services to European cloud regions. SpaceX Starlink terminals funded by the United States, Poland and Germany provide backup communications.
Positives
- Amazon and Microsoft moved critical Ukrainian government resources and digital services to European cloud regions after the February 2022 invasion.
- SpaceX Starlink terminals funded by the United States, Poland and Germany provide Ukraine with backup communications.
- Ukraine’s dispersed energy, telecommunications and digital infrastructure has remained resilient through years of Russian attacks.
- Rostelcom and Norilsk are considering underground facilities that could better protect Russian computing infrastructure.
- Foreign data centers may now be authorized by a government commission, loosening Russia’s previous domestic-cloud restrictions.
Risks & concerns
- Ukrainian strikes damaged or disabled facilities operated by Yandex, Sberbank, VKontakte and Russia’s Ministry of Finance.
- Cloud disruptions affected millions using banking, payments, e-commerce, streaming, ride-hailing and food-delivery services.
- Yandex had to relocate all three main AI supercomputers after strikes targeted their original data centers.
- Russia’s closed, centralized internet leaves widely used services dependent on a small number of vulnerable operators.
- Putin’s November 2 decree requires operators to withhold 10% of available space and computing capacity for emergency state use.
- Russian attacks have targeted Ukrainian data centers since late September 2026 alongside near-continuous strikes on cities.