Ukraine’s drone strikes spur hasty Russian plans for underground data centers

What happened

Ukrainian drone strikes have hit Russian data centers, which are buildings full of computers that store data and run online services. Some of these strikes disrupted cloud services used by millions of Russians. In response, Russian tech firms are looking for ways to protect their computers by placing them underground. The Kremlin, the central government of Russia, has also ordered data center owners to make some of their space and computing power available for emergency state use.

Key numbers and facts

• Russian data centers operated by Yandex, Sberbank, VKontakte, and the Russian Ministry of Finance have been hurt or knocked out by Ukrainian drone strikes.
• On November 2, Putin signed a decree. It orders data center operators to set aside 10 percent of their available space and capacity for the government if needed.
• Russian forces have targeted Ukrainian data centers since late September.

Why this is happening

Russia and Ukraine have been at war, and both sides are using drones and missiles to attack each other. Ukraine has answered Russian attacks with its own drone strikes on military and infrastructure targets inside Russia. Data centers are now part of this conflict, which shows how digital services can be affected by war.

Why it matters

The story shows that data centers can be targets in a war, just like roads or power plants. It also suggests the Kremlin is worried that Russia's cloud computing systems are not safe. Moving data centers underground or using foreign ones are signs of how much pressure the country's tech systems are under.

What to watch

• Whether Russian firms such as Rostelcom and Norilsk move data centers underground.
• How the 10 percent reserve rule is used in practice.
• Whether the Kremlin allows more use of foreign data centers.
• Whether more Russian data centers are hit by drone strikes.