A Russian official has proposed building data centers inside 300-meter-deep coal pits to shield them from Ukrainian drone strikes.

In comments during a session at Russian Energy Week, as reported by Ukrainian media, Kemerovo region governor Ilya Seredyuk proposed putting data centers inside depleted open-pit coal mines, highlighting their resistance to aerial strikes.

The governor also proposed building public parks and greenery above the data center to keep the location hidden from potential threats.

Seredyuk said these constructions would be cheaper, with no need to spend funds on surface reclamation, and their depth would allow for standing pit water and subterranean aquifers to be used as natural chillers, driving down capex and operational costs for cooling.

Seredyuk’s comments come as Ukraine ramps up its attacks on Russian data center infrastructure. Recent drone attacks on data centers owned by Yandex have resulted in disruption for Russian services.

And just today, DCD reported that a drone had struck a data center operated by Russian technology and social media firm VK.

In recent weeks, Russia has been discussing alternative data center locations in light of the attacks, with the vice president of Rostelecom promoting the idea of a so-called “doomsday” data center.

Meanwhile, Russian officials have been making plans to deploy data centers in friendly neighboring countries.

In light of the demands of high-performance computing, as well as risks as data centers become targets for war, developers and operators worldwide have been looking into the concept of subterranean data centers – sometimes even building them – to deliver security, cut cooling and energy costs, and build more sustainable data centers.

Several companies in Israel have proposed subterranean data centers, with Oracle stating in 2024 that it would be building a data center there that was nine floors underground.