What about the electromagnetic pulses (EMP) produced by nuclear detonations? Let's assume that the Russian response is much more strategic and their intelligence much sharper. Why would they select crowded cities when data centers are a more important target? Both a nuclear explosion and the EMP it produces would completely destroy those data centers. In fact, those data centers would be central to military defense. I am not saying that the attack would focus exclusively on those locations, as large cities are also targets when economic damage is taken into account. It should also be considered that the attack would focus precisely on key energy centers, such as nuclear plants or power grid nodes in critical regions, negating the idea of annihilating the population to redirect energy resources to the data centers that power AI.
