{
  "id": 18063682,
  "title": "Ukraine's Drone Strikes Spur Hasty Russian Plans For Underground Data Centers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/04/ukraines-drone-strikes-spur-hasty-russian-plans-for-underground-data",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-04T03:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Slashdot",
    "slug": "slashdot",
    "url": "https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/11/03/2354228/ukraines-drone-strikes-spur-hasty-russian-plans-for-underground-data-centers"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Ukraine's drone strikes on Russian data centers have prompted Russian officials to consider moving some servers underground, according to a report by Vedomosti. The idea was reportedly discussed between Rostelecom, the state-owned telecommunications company, and Norilsk, a nickel and palladium mining firm. Another proposal came from a Russian regional governor who suggested constructing data centers within open-pit coal mines, concealing them with green public parks. President Vladimir Putin signed an order on November 2 mandating data center operators to reserve 10 percent of their capacity for government use if required. This could signal heightened Kremlin concerns about the susceptibility of Russian cloud computing infrastructure during its conflict with Ukraine. The decree also empowers a special Russian government commission to authorize foreign data centers' use, in consultation with the Federal Security Service. This marks a significant shift in policy, as Russia's 2021 Sovereign Internet Law previously prohibited Russian businesses from using cloud computing services outside the country. The hyper-centralized Russian internet system, dominated by a few major tech companies like Yandex, has now been exposed as vulnerable during wartime. Ukrainian drone attacks on key Russian data centers have led to significant disruptions for popular apps and services, including payment platforms, digital banking, e-commerce, video streaming, ride-sharing, and food delivery. Yandex itself had to relocate three of its main supercomputers from their original AI data centers after being targeted by Ukrainian drones.",
  "summary": "An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: [S]tate-owned telecommunications company Rostelcom has raised the possibility of moving some Russian data centers underground in talks with the nickel and palladium mining company Norilsk, according to Russian newspaper Vedomosti. The industry publication Data Center Dynamics also pointed to a recent proposal by a Russian regional governor to…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 9,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Interfax-Ukraine",
        "title": "Russian drone strike kills 14-year-old in Kyiv region",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/russian-drone-strike-kills-14-year-old-in-kyiv-region",
        "published": "2026-11-03T13:15:52.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Melania Trump to meet Ukrainian, Russian representatives at White House this week",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/melania-trump-to-meet-ukrainian-russian-representatives-at-white",
        "published": "2026-11-03T17:07:47.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Meduza (English)",
        "title": "Russian strikes trigger emergency power outages in several Ukrainian regions, cutting water supply across Kyiv",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/russian-strikes-trigger-emergency-power-outages-in-several-ukrainian",
        "published": "2026-11-03T18:28:02.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Ars Technica",
        "title": "Ukraine’s drone strikes spur hasty Russian plans for underground data centers",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/ukraines-drone-strikes-spur-hasty-russian-plans-for-underground-data",
        "published": "2026-11-03T20:39:55.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Kyiv protest raises suspicions of possible Russian orchestration",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/kyiv-protest-raises-suspicions-of-possible-russian-orchestration",
        "published": "2026-11-03T20:54:44.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Insider",
        "title": "Sevastopol struggles to provide promised “two hours of power out of eight” as outages hit Crimea following new Ukrainian strikes",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/sevastopol-struggles-to-provide-promised-two-hours-of-power-out-of",
        "published": "2026-11-03T21:08:42.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Euromaidan Press",
        "title": "One of largest Russian attacks yet on Ukraine’s energy system forces emergency blackouts across regions and leaves Kyiv without water",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/one-of-largest-russian-attacks-yet-on-ukraines-energy-system-forces",
        "published": "2026-11-03T22:25:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Ajel English",
        "title": "Russia strikes Ukrainian energy facilities ahead of Abu Dhabi talks",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/03/russia-strikes-ukrainian-energy-facilities-ahead-of-abu-dhabi-talks",
        "published": "2026-11-03T22:43:38.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}