New data center in Armenia could be used against Russia, among other purposes, says Russia’s Security Council

Increasing the capacity of Firebird AI’s artificial intelligence data center, opened in August in the Armenian city of Hrazdan, to 300 MW by the end of 2027 will require additional power capacity. As a result, Armenia may face a serious electricity shortage that will affect ordinary citizens. This was warned by Alexey Shevtsov, deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council, AiF reports.

He recalled that 300 MW is almost a quarter of the peak winter load of Armenia’s power system (1.3 GW). The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, where a Soviet-designed VVER-440 reactor operates reliably, accounts for almost 30% of all electricity generation in the country. Shevtsov drew attention to the fact that the possibility of building another nuclear power plant is being actively discussed in Armenia. The United States and France are named as potential partners.

The deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council stressed that the United States has not built, and is not building, a single small modular reactor abroad, and that the French simply do not have such technology.

“During the 17 years France spent building the third unit at Olkiluoto in Finland (from 2005 to 2021), its cost rose almost fourfold, from 3.2 billion to 17.7 billion euros,” Shevtsov explained.

He added that Russia is currently building 30 power units abroad, including small modular reactors.

Alexey Shevtsov warned that Firebird is subject to American law, so US intelligence agencies will be able to access all data processed on its servers. As a result, information on Armenian state institutions, companies and citizens will be available to Washington without the consent of the Armenian authorities.

“Such centers can be used to carry out analytical and intelligence work in the interests of Western intelligence agencies, including against Iran, Russia and the states of the South Caucasus and Central Asia,” said the deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council.

He recalled that the Russian data center OVIO has been operating in Armenia since 2024. It fully covers the data storage needs of commercial and government bodies, so the Hrazdan facility is clearly excessive for Armenia’s domestic needs.