diff --git a/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/backend.tf b/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/backend.tf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e6b8c6b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/backend.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+terraform {
+  backend "s3" {
+    endpoints = {
+      s3 = "https://fra1.digitaloceanspaces.com"
+    }
+    bucket = "codex-infra-terraform"
+    key    = "clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/terraform.tfstate"
+    region = "fra1"
+
+    skip_credentials_validation = true
+    skip_requesting_account_id  = true
+    skip_metadata_api_check     = true
+    skip_region_validation      = true
+    skip_s3_checksum            = true
+  }
+}
diff --git a/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/main.tf b/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/main.tf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3facf793
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/main.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+# Kubernetes cluster
+module "doks" {
+  source = "../modules/doks"
+
+  name                            = "logos-storage-dist-tests"
+  region                          = var.region
+  kubernetes_version              = "1.34.5-do.2"
+  kubernetes_ha                   = true
+  kubernetes_auto_upgrade         = false
+  kubernetes_node_pool_name       = "infra-s-4vcpu-16gb-amd"
+  kubernetes_node_pool_size       = "s-4vcpu-16gb-amd"
+  kubernetes_node_pool_auto_scale = true
+  kubernetes_node_pool_min        = 1
+  kubernetes_node_pool_max        = 3
+  kubernetes_node_pool_tags       = ["default", "autoscale"]
+  kubernetes_node_pool_labels = {
+    default-pool  = "true"
+    scaling-type  = "auto"
+    workload-type = "infra"
+  }
+}
+
+# Node pool - Runners CI
+resource "digitalocean_kubernetes_node_pool" "runners-ci" {
+  cluster_id = module.doks.kubernetes_cluster_id
+  name       = "runners-ci-s-2vcpu-8gb-amd"
+  size       = "s-2vcpu-8gb-amd"
+  auto_scale = true
+  min_nodes  = 1
+  max_nodes  = 5
+  tags       = ["runners-ci"]
+
+  labels = {
+    allow-tests-pods = "false"
+    default-pool     = "false"
+    scaling-type     = "auto"
+    workload-type    = "tests-runners-ci"
+  }
+}
+
+# Node pool - Tests Pods
+resource "digitalocean_kubernetes_node_pool" "tests-s-2vcpu-4gb" {
+  cluster_id = module.doks.kubernetes_cluster_id
+  name       = "tests-s-2vcpu-4gb"
+  size       = "s-2vcpu-4gb"
+  auto_scale = true
+  min_nodes  = 1
+  max_nodes  = 10
+  tags       = ["tests-pods"]
+
+  labels = {
+    allow-tests-pods = "true"
+    default-pool     = "false"
+    scaling-type     = "auto"
+    workload-type    = "tests-pods"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/providers.tf b/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/providers.tf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1eed7365
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/providers.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# Providers
+provider "digitalocean" {
+  token = var.do_token
+}
diff --git a/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/variables.tf b/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/variables.tf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3eb848b3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/variables.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+variable "region" {
+  description = "DigitalOcean region (e.g. ams3)"
+  type        = string
+}
+
+variable "do_token" {
+  description = "DigitalOcean API token"
+  type        = string
+  sensitive   = true
+}
diff --git a/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/versions.tf b/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/versions.tf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8841865e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3/versions.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# Terraform settings
+terraform {
+  required_version = "~> 1.0"
+  required_providers {
+    digitalocean = {
+      source  = "digitalocean/digitalocean"
+      version = "~> 2.0"
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/locals.tf b/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/locals.tf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f2dd8a14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/locals.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+locals {
+  name           = "${var.name}-do-${var.region}"
+  node_pool_name = "pool-${var.kubernetes_node_pool_size}"
+}
diff --git a/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/main.tf b/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/main.tf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d945c911
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/main.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+# Kubernetes cluster
+resource "digitalocean_kubernetes_cluster" "this" {
+  name         = local.name
+  region       = var.region
+  version      = var.kubernetes_version
+  ha           = var.kubernetes_ha
+  auto_upgrade = var.kubernetes_auto_upgrade
+
+  node_pool {
+    name       = var.kubernetes_node_pool_name
+    size       = var.kubernetes_node_pool_size
+    node_count = var.kubernetes_node_pool_count
+    auto_scale = var.kubernetes_node_pool_auto_scale
+    min_nodes  = var.kubernetes_node_pool_min
+    max_nodes  = var.kubernetes_node_pool_max
+    tags       = var.kubernetes_node_pool_tags
+    labels     = var.kubernetes_node_pool_labels
+
+    dynamic "taint" {
+      for_each = length(var.kubernetes_node_pool_taint) == 0 ? {} : { taint = true }
+      content {
+        key    = lookup(var.kubernetes_node_pool_taint, "key")
+        value  = lookup(var.kubernetes_node_pool_taint, "value")
+        effect = lookup(var.kubernetes_node_pool_taint, "effect")
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  maintenance_policy {
+    day        = var.kubernetes_maintenance_day
+    start_time = var.kubernetes_maintenance_start_time
+  }
+}
diff --git a/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/outputs.tf b/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/outputs.tf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3344ad92
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/outputs.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# Kubernetes cluster
+output "kubernetes_cluster_id" {
+  value       = digitalocean_kubernetes_cluster.this.id
+  description = "A unique ID that can be used to identify and reference a Kubernetes cluster."
+}
diff --git a/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/variables.tf b/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/variables.tf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e0f3253c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/variables.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+# Main
+variable "name" {
+  type        = string
+  description = "A name for the created resources."
+}
+
+variable "region" {
+  type        = string
+  description = "The DigitalOcean region slug for the resources location."
+}
+
+# Kubernetes Control Plane
+variable "kubernetes_version" {
+  type        = string
+  description = "The slug identifier for the version of Kubernetes used for the cluster."
+}
+
+variable "kubernetes_ha" {
+  type        = bool
+  description = "Enable/disable the high availability control plane for a cluster."
+}
+
+variable "kubernetes_auto_upgrade" {
+  type        = bool
+  description = "A boolean value indicating whether the cluster will be automatically upgraded to new patch releases during its maintenance window."
+}
+
+variable "kubernetes_maintenance_day" {
+  type        = string
+  description = "The day of the maintenance window policy."
+  default     = "sunday"
+}
+
+variable "kubernetes_maintenance_start_time" {
+  type        = string
+  description = "The start time in UTC of the maintenance window policy in 24-hour clock format / HH:MM notation (e.g., 15:00)."
+  default     = "04:00"
+}
+
+# Kubernetes default Node Pool
+variable "kubernetes_node_pool_name" {
+  type        = string
+  description = "A name for the node pool."
+  default     = null
+}
+
+variable "kubernetes_node_pool_size" {
+  type        = string
+  description = "The slug identifier for the type of Droplet to be used as workers in the node pool."
+  default     = null
+}
+
+variable "kubernetes_node_pool_count" {
+  type        = number
+  default     = null
+  description = "The number of Droplet instances in the node pool."
+}
+
+variable "kubernetes_node_pool_auto_scale" {
+  type        = bool
+  description = "Enable auto-scaling of the number of nodes in the node pool within the given min/max range."
+  default     = null
+}
+
+variable "kubernetes_node_pool_min" {
+  type        = number
+  description = "If auto-scaling is enabled, this represents the minimum number of nodes that the node pool can be scaled down to."
+  default     = null
+}
+
+variable "kubernetes_node_pool_max" {
+  type        = number
+  description = "If auto-scaling is enabled, this represents the maximum number of nodes that the node pool can be scaled up to."
+  default     = null
+}
+
+variable "kubernetes_node_pool_tags" {
+  type        = list(any)
+  description = "A list of tag names applied to the node pool."
+  default     = ["default", "autoscale"]
+}
+
+variable "kubernetes_node_pool_labels" {
+  type        = map(string)
+  description = "A map of key/value pairs to apply to nodes in the pool."
+  default = {
+    default-pool = "true"
+    scaling-type = "auto"
+  }
+}
+
+variable "kubernetes_node_pool_taint" {
+  type        = map(string)
+  description = "A block representing a taint applied to all nodes in the pool."
+  default = {
+  }
+}
diff --git a/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/versions.tf b/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/versions.tf
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..21efa07e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release/clusters/modules/doks/versions.tf
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# Terraform settings
+terraform {
+  required_providers {
+    digitalocean = {
+      source  = "digitalocean/digitalocean"
+      version = "~> 2.0"
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/.github/release/job-release-tests.yaml b/.github/release/job-release-tests.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3d56fe01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release/job-release-tests.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+apiVersion: batch/v1
+kind: Job
+metadata:
+  name: ${NAMEPREFIX}
+  namespace: default
+  labels:
+    name: ${NAMEPREFIX}
+    runid: ${RUNID}
+spec:
+  ttlSecondsAfterFinished: 86400
+  backoffLimit: 0
+  template:
+    metadata:
+      name: ${NAMEPREFIX}
+      labels:
+        app: ${TEST_TYPE}-runner
+        name: ${NAMEPREFIX}
+        runid: ${RUNID}
+    spec:
+      priorityClassName: system-node-critical
+      nodeSelector:
+        workload-type: "tests-runners-ci"
+      containers:
+      - name: runner
+        image: logosstorage/logos-storage-dist-tests:latest
+        imagePullPolicy: Always
+        resources:
+          requests:
+            memory: "1Gi"
+        env:
+        - name: KUBECONFIG
+          value: "/opt/kubeconfig.yaml"
+        - name: LOGPATH
+          value: "/var/log/storage-${TEST_TYPE}"
+        - name: BRANCH
+          value: "${BRANCH}"
+        - name: SOURCE
+          value: "${SOURCE}"
+        - name: RUNID
+          value: "${RUNID}"
+        - name: STORAGEDOCKERIMAGE
+          value: "${STORAGEDOCKERIMAGE}"
+        - name: TESTID
+          value: "${TESTID}"
+        - name: TESTS_TYPE
+          value: "${TEST_TYPE}"
+        volumeMounts:
+        - name: kubeconfig
+          mountPath: /opt/kubeconfig.yaml
+          subPath: kubeconfig.yaml
+        - name: logs
+          mountPath: /var/log/storage-${TEST_TYPE}
+        args: ["dotnet", "test", "Tests/LogosStorageReleaseTests"]
+      restartPolicy: Never
+      volumes:
+        - name: kubeconfig
+          secret:
+            secretName: storage-dist-tests-app-kubeconfig
+        - name: logs
+          hostPath:
+            path: /var/log/storage-${TEST_TYPE}
diff --git a/.github/release/kubeconfig-template.yaml b/.github/release/kubeconfig-template.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5dd36976
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/release/kubeconfig-template.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+apiVersion: v1
+kind: Config
+clusters:
+- cluster:
+    certificate-authority-data: ${CA}
+    server: ${SERVER}
+  name: release-tests
+contexts:
+- context:
+    cluster: release-tests
+    user: release-tests-runner
+  name: release-tests
+current-context: release-tests
+users:
+- name: release-tests-runner
+  user:
+    token: ${TOKEN}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 0b64e231..6d1e4ae4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -7,6 +7,12 @@ on:
     branches:
       - master
   workflow_dispatch:
+    inputs:
+      branch:
+        description: 'dist-tests branch to run tests from'
+        required: false
+        default: 'master'
+        type: string
 
 env:
   cache_nonce: 0 # Allows for easily busting actions/cache caches
@@ -179,11 +185,122 @@ jobs:
           path: ${{ env.build_dir }}/${{ env.c_bindings_lib }}.zip
           if-no-files-found: error
 
+  # Build Docker logosstorage/logos-storage-nim:latest-dist-tests image for Logos Storage nodes in the cluster
+  build-docker-dist-tests:
+    name: Build Docker dist-tests image
+    if: github.ref_type == 'tag' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
+    uses: ./.github/workflows/docker-reusable.yml
+    with:
+      nimflags: '-d:disableMarchNative -d:storage_enable_api_debug_peers=true -d:storage_enable_log_counter=true'
+      nat_ip_auto: true
+      tag_latest: false
+      tag_stable: false
+      tag_suffix: dist-tests
+      tag_sha: false
+    secrets: inherit
+
+  # Release tests
+  release-tests:
+    name: Release Tests
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: github.ref_type == 'tag' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
+    needs: build-docker-dist-tests
+    env:
+      TF_VAR_region: ams3
+      TF_VAR_do_token: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_TESTS_DO_TOKEN }}
+      AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_TESTS_SPACES_ACCESS_KEY }}
+      AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_TESTS_SPACES_SECRET_KEY }}
+      STORAGEDOCKERIMAGE: ${{ needs.build-docker-dist-tests.outputs.logos_storage_image }}
+      TEST_TYPE: release-tests
+      BRANCH: ${{ inputs.branch || 'master' }}
+      SOURCE: https://github.com/logos-storage/logos-storage-nim-cs-dist-tests
+      TF_DIR: .github/release/clusters/logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout
+        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      - name: Setup Terraform
+        uses: hashicorp/setup-terraform@v3
+
+      - name: Setup doctl
+        uses: digitalocean/action-doctl@v2
+        with:
+          token: ${{ secrets.RELEASE_TESTS_DO_TOKEN }}
+
+      - name: Setup kubectl
+        uses: azure/setup-kubectl@v4
+        with:
+          version: v1.30.5
+
+      - name: Terraform init
+        working-directory: ${{ env.TF_DIR }}
+        run: terraform init
+
+      - name: Terraform apply
+        id: tf-apply
+        working-directory: ${{ env.TF_DIR }}
+        run: terraform apply -auto-approve
+
+      - name: Get kubeconfig
+        run: doctl kubernetes cluster kubeconfig save logos-storage-dist-tests-do-ams3
+
+      - name: Create in-cluster app kubeconfig secret
+        run: |
+          kubectl create serviceaccount release-tests-runner -n default
+          kubectl create clusterrolebinding release-tests-runner \
+            --clusterrole=cluster-admin \
+            --serviceaccount=default:release-tests-runner
+
+          export TOKEN=$(kubectl create token release-tests-runner -n default --duration=2h)
+          export SERVER=$(kubectl config view --minify -o jsonpath='{.clusters[0].cluster.server}')
+          export CA=$(kubectl config view --minify --raw -o jsonpath='{.clusters[0].cluster.certificate-authority-data}')
+
+          kubectl create secret generic storage-dist-tests-app-kubeconfig \
+            --from-file=kubeconfig.yaml=<(envsubst < .github/release/kubeconfig-template.yaml) \
+            -n default
+
+      - name: Set run variables
+        run: |
+          RUNID=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)
+          echo "RUNID=${RUNID}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "NAMEPREFIX=r-tests-${RUNID}" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+          echo "TESTID=$(git rev-parse --short HEAD)" >> $GITHUB_ENV
+
+      - name: Deploy test job
+        run: envsubst < .github/release/job-release-tests.yaml | kubectl apply -f -
+
+      - name: Wait for test pod to start
+        run: |
+          kubectl wait pod \
+            -l job-name=$NAMEPREFIX \
+            -n default \
+            --for=condition=Ready \
+            --timeout=300s
+
+      - name: Stream test logs
+        run: |
+          kubectl logs -l job-name=$NAMEPREFIX \
+            -n default \
+            --follow
+
+      - name: Check job status
+        run: |
+          sleep 5
+          job_status=$(kubectl get jobs $NAMEPREFIX -n default \
+            -o jsonpath='{.status.conditions[0].type}')
+          echo "Job status: $job_status"
+          [[ "$job_status" == "SuccessCriteriaMet" ]] || exit 1
+
+      - name: Terraform destroy
+        if: always() && steps.tf-apply.conclusion != 'skipped'
+        working-directory: ${{ env.TF_DIR }}
+        run: terraform destroy -auto-approve
+
   # Release
   release:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    needs: build
-    if: success() || failure()
+    needs: [build, release-tests]
+    if: needs.build.result == 'success' && needs.release-tests.result == 'success'
     steps:
       - name: Set conditional env variables
         shell: bash