Ukrainian Drones Strike Sberbank Data Center in Balakovo

Ukrainian drones targeted a Sberbank data center in Balakovo, located in the Saratov region on the Volga River. The facility is the largest of its kind in Russia, covering 55,000 square meters and slated to house the country's largest supercomputer by 2027. The site is situated near the Saratov hydroelectric power plant and the Balakovo nuclear power plant.

Sberbank First Deputy CEO Alexander Vedyakhin confirmed the attack but stated that all systems and services are operating normally and without disruption. It remains unclear if any supercomputing hardware was damaged during the strike.

Ukraine stated the operation was a response to Russian attacks on Ukrainian data sites. This strike follows three separate attacks within the past week targeting data centers owned by the Russian technology group Yandex. Neither Sberbank nor Yandex has provided detailed assessments of the damage to their infrastructure.