State IT infrastructure mandate
On Nov. 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ordering Russian data centers to reserve 10 percent of their capacity to bolster state IT infrastructure. Under this order, Russian state agencies can quickly utilize privately owned data centers for their own needs, according to Reuters. A newly established government commission will have the authority to claim reserved capacity, which must be made accessible within 24 hours of the government’s notification.
| Provision | Specification |
|---|---|
| Reserved capacity | 10% of total capacity |
| Notification response time | Within 24 hours |
This mandate allows the Russian state to access private computing resources as Ukraine continues to target Russian data centers with long-range drone attacks.
Infrastructure strikes and defense
Ukrainian long-range drone attacks have targeted Russian data centers, causing significant operational failures. In an overnight operation on Oct. 16, Ukrainian drones targeted a Yandex data center in Vladimir Oblast, which sits approximately 500 kilometers or 310 miles from the Ukrainian border, following previous strikes on the same Yandex site on Oct. 11. Following the strikes on the Yandex site on Oct. 11, the company announced that operations at the data center had been completely shut down. These strikes in Vladimir Oblast marked the third near-consecutive day of attacks on Russian data centers, following confirmed strikes in the Ryazan and Kaluga oblasts on Oct. 8 and Oct. 9. The strikes fulfilled President Volodymyr Zelensky’s threat to hit Russian data centers in retaliation for Moscow’s strikes on Ukrainian internet infrastructure.
On Oct. 25, Russian state-controlled media reported that the Digital Development Ministry proposed building data centers underground, camouflaged from aerial detection, and equipped with drone defenses. The ministry made this proposal after Russian strikes in late September hit multiple data centers and internet providers in Kyiv, which disrupted service for around 100,000 households. These strikes in Kyiv followed Moscow’s strikes on Ukrainian internet infrastructure.
