Russian governor proposes data centers in abandoned coal mines to shield servers from drones

Seredyuk presented the idea during Russian Energy Week. He argued that instead of spending money to reclaim the mines, authorities could build new facilities in them. Some former open pits reach roughly 300 metres in depth, offering vertical space without conventional surface construction across large areas. He also suggested accumulated mine water and underground waterways could help lower cooling costs. At present it is only a proposal and technical feasibility remains uncertain.

The governor suggested covering underground installations with roofs and building landscaped areas above them, potentially creating parks over reclaimed mining properties. TechRadar reported that such arrangements could conceal server buildings from direct observation, but landscaping alone would not provide meaningful protection against aerial surveillance or precision attacks. It also said that placing public parks above underground server facilities could expose civilians, including children, to risk if the installations became targets.

The proposal follows reported damage to Russian digital infrastructure during Ukrainian drone attacks. Reports said a drone attack started a fire at a Yandex data center in Sasovo in the Ryazan region on Oct. 8, 2026. Yandex suspended operations at the affected facility, but the company did not publicly confirm the full extent of the reported damage, TechRadar reported.

Russian outlet Verstka also reported that Yandex had obscured four cloud data center locations on its mapping service. The facilities were identified as being in Mytishchi, Kaluga, Vladimir and Sasovo. Concealing map locations does not establish that every site suffered damage, according to the report.

TechRadar reported that moving data centers underground could introduce engineering difficulties, especially where groundwater accumulates or mining has weakened surrounding rock. Reliable computing facilities also need continuous electricity, redundant connectivity, fire suppression and accessible maintenance routes regardless of depth. Those factors would require careful assessment before Russia could determine whether abandoned coal mines offer a practical alternative to conventional data center sites.

Editor’s Summary: Ilya Seredyuk, governor of Russia’s Kemerovo region, proposed using exhausted coal mines as data centers to cut construction costs and protect servers from drone attacks. The idea follows a reported drone attack on a Yandex data center in Sasovo. Technical feasibility remains uncertain, and the proposal would require assessments of structural stability, water, power, ventilation and emergency access.