Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s largest data centre on Wednesday, raising fresh concerns about the security of infrastructure supporting the country’s artificial intelligence ambitions. The facility, located in Balakovo and owned by Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, was targeted after three drone attacks on data centres operated by technology company Yandex during the previous week.
Sberbank confirmed the incident but said its systems and services continued operating normally. Alexander Vedyakhin, the bank’s first deputy chief executive officer, told reporters that the data processing centre had come under attack but its operations remained unaffected.
The incident occurred as Russian President Vladimir Putin held an unannounced meeting with senior officials to discuss information security. Sberbank Chief Executive Officer German Gref attended the meeting, although the Kremlin said the discussions were unrelated to the attacks on data centres.
In 2024, Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti, reported that the Balakovo facility was expected to house the country’s largest supercomputer, with operations scheduled to begin in 2027.
The latest strike follows attacks on Yandex data centres that have raised questions about the vulnerability of Russia’s advanced computing infrastructure. The affected facilities reportedly housed the company’s three operational supercomputers, which support the development and training of artificial intelligence models. However, neither Yandex nor Sberbank has confirmed whether any supercomputers were damaged.
Sberbank and Yandex are Russia’s leading domestic developers of artificial intelligence technology. Their flagship models, GigaChat and YandexGPT, are designed to compete with international alternatives in a market where both companies have invested heavily in AI research and development.
Despite these efforts, Russia continues to lag behind leading AI developers in the United States and China. Sberbank estimates that the gap could reach nine months, partly because Western sanctions have restricted access to advanced computing equipment needed to train sophisticated AI models.
On September 29, Gref identified difficulties obtaining modern graphics processing units (GPUs) as a major obstacle to Russia’s technological progress. He said both Sberbank and Yandex were facing challenges securing the hardware required to develop their AI systems.
Sberbank has explored purchasing chips from Chinese manufacturers to address the shortage. However, Vedyakhin told Reuters in an interview on June 3 that Nvidia’s dominance of its CUDA software platform presented an additional challenge. The platform is widely used by developers to build and run artificial intelligence applications.
Yandex has previously disclosed that its supercomputers use Nvidia A100 processors, introduced in 2020 before newer models, including the H100 series, became available.
Sberbank operates two supercomputers, including its most advanced system, Christofari Neo, which is based in Moscow. Powered by Nvidia A100 chips, the machine ranked 167th on the Top500 list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. Yandex’s Chervonenkis system ranked 101st on the same list.
Information technology expert Mikhail Klimarev warned that replacing restricted computing equipment could be expensive and difficult because of Western sanctions. He explained that obtaining the necessary hardware often requires indirect supply routes and negotiations with sellers concerned about possible penalties for supplying Russia.
Klimarev added that damage to advanced computing facilities could place further pressure on Russia’s AI industry, which already faces significant challenges accessing international technology.
The report that Sberbank’s services remained unaffected has also prompted comparisons with Yandex, whose taxi and food delivery services previously experienced operational difficulties following attacks on its facilities. Some commentators suggested that the difference could indicate stronger protective measures at Sberbank’s infrastructure.
Military blogger Alexander Kots praised Sberbank’s reported resilience, describing it as an example of how businesses could protect their assets. His comments came as Russian authorities considered additional measures to strengthen the security of critical digital infrastructure.
A decree issued by Putin in August allows the Russian state to take control of facilities considered inadequately protected. The measure has drawn greater attention to security arrangements at data centres regarded as strategically important to the country.
The Balakovo data centre is located near the Balakovo nuclear power plant, which supplies its electricity, and the Saratov hydroelectric power plant. Authorities reported no damage to either energy facility following the drone strike.
Ukraine has described its attacks on Russian infrastructure as a response to Russian strikes against Ukrainian targets. Throughout the conflict, both countries have targeted oil refineries, power stations, ports and e-commerce facilities.
Russia’s digital development ministry said this week that it was consulting the military on ways to improve the protection of data centres. Some lawmakers have also proposed moving critical computing equipment underground to reduce its vulnerability to drone attacks.
Valery Yermakov, deputy chief executive of state-controlled telecommunications company Rostelecom, has called for a highly secure facility to protect the country’s most important digital infrastructure.
Speaking at a conference in Moscow, Yermakov said Russia needed what he described as a “Doomsday data vault” to safeguard essential computing systems against future attacks.
Goodness Anunobi
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