Drone strikes on Sber and Yandex data centers hinder Russia's AI growth

October drone strikes by Ukraine on Sber and Yandex data centers affected about 11% of Russia's data center capacity. Yandex restored access to 97% of the affected cloud data, while the remaining 3% was lost irretrievably.

Ukrainian drone strikes on Sber and Yandex data centers in October added to the problems facing Russia's artificial intelligence industry, which is already struggling with shortages of advanced chips and electricity, The Moscow Times reports.

The affected facilities were estimated to account for about 11% of Russia's data center capacity. Most services have already been restored, but Kommersant reported that fully repairing the damage could take up to six months. Yandex said on Tuesday that it had restored access to approximately 97% of customers' affected cloud data, while the remaining 3% was lost irretrievably.

Серверное оборудование в дата-центре (архив)

Capacity shortage

Moscow and St. Petersburg, where about 80% of Russia's data centers are concentrated, are approaching the limits of their power grids. The annual shortfall in new data center capacity is estimated at 300 MW, while the Moscow region is expected to commission only 66 MW in 2026 instead of the planned 199 MW.

Sber CEO German Gref acknowledged in September that infrastructure constraints leave Russian companies “not on equal footing” with Chinese companies. Among the solutions under discussion is the construction of underground data centers, which Kommersant reported would cost 40% more than conventional facilities.

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