Russia's huge technology base has been hit. More than 900 aircraft flew

A data center belonging to state-owned Sberbank, Russia's largest financial institution in terms of assets and number of customers, was targeted with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

It was reported that all systems and services of the bank continued to operate without disruption after the attack on the headquarters in the city of Balakovo.

Sberbank Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors Aleksandr Vedyahin confirmed the attack on the data center in his statement on the subject and said, "All systems and services of Sberbank are working normally, without any disruption."

It was announced that one person died in the attack in Balakovo, located on the banks of the Volga River in the Saratov region.

Regional Governor Roman Busargin shared the loss of life information on his social media account.

The data center, which was attacked by a UAV, is considered one of the most critical investments of Sberbank, which also operates in the field of technology.

According to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti in 2024, this campus, spread over an area of ​​55 thousand square meters, was expected to host Russia's largest supercomputer, which was planned to become operational in 2027.

The strategic facility targeted is located adjacent to the Balakovo nuclear power plant and the Saratov hydroelectric power plant.

However, Sberbank did not make a statement about whether the supercomputers within the facility were damaged in the attack.

Sberbank is the country's leading artificial intelligence developer, along with its largest local rival, technology giant Yandex, with which it shares the Russian market.

Both companies, which have invested heavily in artificial intelligence models, are about nine months behind global leaders in the United States and China, due to the impact of Western sanctions that make it difficult for Russia to access advanced hardware.