Yandex reportedly relocates three supercomputers after Ukrainian drone strikes
Underground facilities are being discussed as protection, while reported damage has spread beyond AI infrastructure to banking, shopping and transport services.
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3 key pointsYandex has reportedly relocated all three of its main supercomputers after Ukrainian drone strikes targeted data centers, while Russian telecom operator Rostelecom has discussed underground facilities with mining company Norilsk. Damage to facilities operated by several major Russian organizations disrupted services ranging from banking and payments to streaming and delivery, exposing the risks of concentrated digital infrastructure. Ukraine’s contrasting approach combines dispersed infrastructure with cloud regions elsewhere in Europe and Starlink backups.
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The reported strikes affected facilities operated by Yandex, Sberbank, VKontakte and Russia’s Ministry of Finance; some were degraded and others knocked out.
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Rostelecom and Norilsk discussed underground facilities, while another proposal would conceal data centers in open-pit mines beneath public parks.
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After Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion, Amazon and Microsoft helped move Ukrainian government resources and other critical services to cloud regions elsewhere in Europe.
Yandex has moved all three of its main supercomputers after Ukrainian drone strikes targeted their data centers, according to Meduza reporting cited by Ars Technica on November 3. The reported relocations come as Russian companies discuss putting facilities underground following attacks that damaged AI infrastructure and disrupted cloud services for millions of users.
The attacks affected data centers operated by Yandex, state-owned bank Sberbank, social media platform VKontakte and Russia’s Ministry of Finance. Some facilities were degraded; others were knocked out.
Ars describes disruptions to payment and digital banking apps, e-commerce platforms, video streaming, ride-hailing and food delivery. It connects that wide reach to Russia’s concentration of digital services under a small number of domestic technology companies, including Yandex.
Moving machines, considering mines
State-owned telecommunications company Rostelecom has discussed moving some Russian facilities underground with mining company Norilsk, according to Vedomosti reporting cited by Ars.
A separate proposal would combine burial with concealment. A Russian regional governor suggested placing data centers inside open-pit coal mines and creating green public parks above them as camouflage. Ars attributes that proposal to industry publication Data Center Dynamics.
Ukraine’s alternative: spread services out
Ukraine offers a contrasting approach to keeping digital services available. Ars describes its more decentralized services as more resilient despite years of Russian attacks. The government has dispersed important energy and telecommunications nodes and buried more supporting infrastructure.
Some of that dispersal crossed national borders. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Amazon and Microsoft helped Ukraine move government resources and other critical digital services to cloud regions elsewhere in Europe. Those migrations placed services outside Ukraine rather than relying solely on protecting domestic facilities from physical attack.
Ukraine has also used SpaceX’s Starlink satellite terminals as backup communications, with funding from the United States and European countries including Poland and Germany.
Sources
- arstechnica.comUkraine’s drone strikes spur hasty Russian plans for underground data centers
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