Russia plans underground data centers following Ukrainian drone strikes

Russia is making plans to build underground data centers following Ukrainian drone strikes on critical facilities, Ars Technica reported. The Ukrainian strikes targeted major sites, causing widespread disruptions across the country's hyper-centralized technology infrastructure. [1]

A decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin permits a special government commission to approve the use of foreign data centers in consultation with the Federal Security Service, according to Ars Technica. This decision marks a shift from Russia's Sovereign Internet Law, which previously prohibited domestic companies from utilizing cloud infrastructure located outside national borders. [1]

The existing centralized infrastructure relies heavily on a small group of Russian technology companies, including Yandex, Ars Technica reported. As FTMQ Startups reported earlier, previous Ukrainian drone attacks struck Russian data centers that contained supercomputers used to train Yandex artificial intelligence models, causing disruptions to multiple online platforms and applications. [1][10]

In separate battlefield developments, Kyiv startup CODE380 developed a 10-ounce receiver called the D·Vision SDR that allows Ukrainian forces to view live video feeds from Russian drones, TechCrunch Startups reported. However, TechCrunch Startups noted that Russia is shifting toward digital video signals and signal-free artificial intelligence guidance, which may limit the effectiveness of such receivers. [2]