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Ukrainian drone attacks hammer Russia's finance ministry data center, damaged facility reportedly holds tax databases — facility also holds other important state registry data
Russia has lost another data center in its ongoing conflict with Ukraine after drones hit a government data center in the suburbs of Gorodets, some 230 miles east of the Kremlin and over 600 miles away from the frontlines. According to Data Center Dynamics (DCD), the freshly drone damaged data center is operated by the Russian Ministry of Finance and was said to hold several state registries, including the Federal Taxation Service’s tax database.
“The facility is one of two key data processing centers of the Federal Tax Service of Russia operating in a geo-distributed mode,” DCD reported, citing a Russian media outlet. “The damage to this facility could potentially affect the operation of state information systems of the Russian Federation.” Ukraine has targeted Russian data centersmultiple times since the start of October, which it started doing after Moscow escalated the conflict by striking Ukrainian data centers. While the Russian finance ministry reportedly operates two other data centers — one at the Federal Data Processing Center in Dubna, Moscow Region, and another in Yerzovka, Volgograd Region — losing a third of its data centers could have a major impact on government services that it provides.
A modern society’s reliance on digital services means that data centers are now critical infrastructure and have become major targets in conflict. Russia’s Yandex bot traffic collapsed after the Ukrainian drone strikes, but its disinformation bot network simply migrated to unaffected data centers to continue operating as normal. Another recent instance of a civilian data center getting caught in a conflict was in the Middle East, after Iranian forces hit AWS sites in the UAE and Bahrain in response to the United States’ bombing campaign that began in February. This has led to disruptions to many digital services in the area, which is why Amazon has advised many of its clients to move to other regions to avoid further disruptions.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started in 2014 when it forcibly occupied the Crimean Peninsula, but the current situation started when Moscow escalated the situation and attempted to take Kyiv in 2022. But what makes this 12-year conflict especially deadly is the new technologies and strategies that are being implemented in the front lines, including the widespread and innovative use of drones.
Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.
I really don't like the way this keeps spiraling. It might get to a certain point where Russia's inability to win on the battlefield plus Ukraine's successfully targeting deep inside Russia might reach a breaking point where Russia is frustrated enough to use nuclear weapons.
I am not talking a planet-shaking hydrogen bomb, but a low yield (as in lower radiation) tactical nuclear warhead designed to cause huge amounts of deaths and destruction as a deterrent to Ukraine's ever increasing strikes.
And then what?? Ukraine is not in NATO / part of any defence pact, so I don't believe for a second Europe or the US will engage Russia on the same nuclear level or even non nuclear level. The west doesn't have the stomach or the will for that. So there is really no real deterrent for Russia not to go nuclear.
Let's hope it doesn't get to that. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail soon.
you seem dont understand what Civilian target means. Hospitals , SChools , Power , water , Money and TAX facilities are all Civilian targets and not Military target. it does not matter who runs them .
I am not talking a planet-shaking hydrogen bomb, but a low yield (as in lower radiation) tactical nuclear warhead designed to cause huge amounts of deaths and destruction as a deterrent to Ukraine's ever increasing strikes.
Dont let them fool you about Tactical Nukes and low radiation .
Tactical Nukes , or ANYTHING Nuke Explosion Produce by products from the Explosion it self .
The idea that tactical nukes are "cleaner" or safe to use on a localized battlefield is a dangerous misconception. They produce the same hazardous byproducts as any other nuclear detonation, posing severe short- and long-term risks.
Cesium-137 and Strontium-90 are produced from the detonation. and they have 30 years half life .. and they spread into soil , clouds and water supply , and they cause cancer .
