Amazon Saved the Ukrainian Government with Suitcase-Sized Drives

• Since February, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Amazon has been supporting the country.
• Amazon sent a suitcase-sized computer drive to back up crucial data to the cloud in one initiative.
• Up to 10 million gigabytes have been saved in Ukraine’s economic and government data. 

According to a report, Amazon has become an unlikely hero since being invaded in February by Russia. They have donated medical supplies, food, and made a $75 million investment to develop cloud-based backups for essential government data. statementBy the company.

Using suitcase-sized solid-state hard drives, called Snowball Edge units — delivered to Ukraine through the Polish border — Amazon has helped back up critical infrastructure and economic information beginning the day Russia launched its invasion. 

“This war is the most technologically advanced in human history.” The Los Angeles Times reportedMykhailo Fedorov (31-year-old Ukrainian vice prime minister and minister for digital transformation), said that Amazon Web Services’ leadership “made a decision that saved both the Ukrainian government’s and its economy.”

Over 10 million gigabytes worth of Ukrainian government and economic data have been saved to date, including data from “27 Ukrainian Ministries, 18 Ukrainian Universities, and the International Monetary Fund”. largest remote learning K–12 school (serving hundreds of thousands of displaced children), and dozens of other private sector companies,” according to a statementAmazon

On February 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine’s territory, Liam Maxwell (Amazon Web Services’ director for government transformation) met with Vadym Prystaiko, the Ukrainian Ambassador, to discuss ways the company could help Ukraine. They quickly devised a plan to save the country’s most important data.

Maxwell stated that it is not clear if Amazon has ever assisted other countries with data transfers. The Los Angeles Times reportedMany East Asian countries inquired about cloud backups outside of their country’s government data.

Fedorov and Maxwell signed a Memo on November 29 that agreed to continue the partnership through 2023. 

Fedorov stated that AWS made one of the greatest contributions to Ukraine’s victory by providing access to resources and information to the Ukrainian government to migrate to the cloud, as well as critical information. saidSigning 

In July Amazon was awarded the Ukrainian peace prizeIts assistance in backing up vital files to the cloud. The majority of data is transferred to the cloud via secure networks. The Snowball Edge units, still loaded full of vital information, are then sent back to Amazon for safekeeping. 

“It’s a tense time around the baggage cartousel,” The Los Angeles Times reportedMaxwell said. “Here’s government inside a box, literally.”

The Russian invasion can’t steal or cause damage to the valuable drives and data by having them safely stored and uploaded.

“You can’t take down the cloud with a cruise missile.” The Los Angeles Times reportedMaxwell stated.

Additional companies include FedEx, The Clorox Company, Microsoft, have also contributed to the war effort for Ukraine through financial donations or providing specific services. They also suspended business in Russia. The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship has reportedMore than 50 companies have followed their lead. 

Insider reached out to Amazon representatives and the office President Zelenskyy but they did not immediately respond.