Putin orders Russian data centers to reserve capacity to assist state IT infrastructure
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Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Nov. 2 ordering Russian data centers to reserve 10% 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, Reuters reported.
With the decree, a newly established government commission will have the authority to claim reserved capacities, which must be made accessible within 24 hours of the government's notification.
Putin's order comes as Ukraine has continued to target Russian data centers with long-range drone attacks.
Russia's Digital Development Ministry previously proposed building data centers underground, camouflaged from aerial detection, and equipped with drone defenses, Russian state-controlled media reported on Oct. 25.
On Oct. 16, Russian technology giant Yandex's data center in Vladimir Oblast, around 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was targeted by Ukrainian drones in an overnight operation.
Following strikes on the same Yandex site on Oct. 11, the company announced operations at the data center had been completely shut down. That strike marked the third near-consecutive day of attacks on Yandex data centers in Russia, following confirmed strikes in Ryazan and Kaluga oblasts on Oct. 8 and 9.
The strikes fulfilled President Volodymyr Zelensky's threat to hit Russian data centers in retaliation for Moscow's strikes on Ukrainian internet infrastructure.
In late September, Russian strikes hit multiple data centers and internet providers in Kyiv, disrupting service for around 100,000 households.
