The Russian authorities require the country's higher education institutions to convince students to sign up for service in the "unmanned troops" of Russia. The main emphasis is on those young people who, due to poor grades, are on the verge of being expelled from their studies. They are promised a special contract for a period of one year, during which they will serve far from the front line (approximately 20 kilometers from it), large sums of money (about 5 million rubles), as well as subsequent free education at the relevant higher education institution. However, experts and lawyers claim that this is an attempt to mislead young people, who then find themselves forced to sign a contract for an indefinite period, and in the worst case, are sent to the front, where they can lose their lives or be seriously injured.
According to data from the independent T-invariant project, the agitation is being carried out in a variety of educational institutions, including pedagogical universities, which are not associated with the development or use of unmanned aerial vehicles. According to the publication "Echo", at least 70 educational institutions throughout Russia are involved in recruiting students: 57 higher education institutions and 13 secondary vocational schools in 23 regions of the country, including in the annexed Crimea.
They are forcing universities to agitate students
Yuri*, who is a lecturer at one of the Moscow universities, told DW how the heads of higher education institutions were summoned to a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, responsible for education and science. There, they were tasked with agitating students to enroll in the military units for unmanned systems. If at first it was about agitation in large technical universities and military departments, then from January 2026 the circle of students has been significantly expanded and since February students from various specialties, including girls, have already received drafts, claims the source of the State News Agency.
"According to my observations, a quota has been set for each university - from 0.5% to 2% of the total number of students", says Yuri. According to him, if the university does not meet these requirements, the leadership may be suspected of disloyalty. "In such a case, the rector or his deputy risks his position", adds the interlocutor of the State News Agency.
He also claims that at the university where he teaches, the share of unsatisfactory grades has recently increased sharply. "It wasn't like that before. "Students are now failing retake exams en masse, as they are now being tested by two teachers, not one, as before," explains Yuri.
Students who fail are offered an alternative: either sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense and serve in the unmanned systems troops, or be called up for compulsory military service.
Students are being misled about the contract
The propaganda materials claim that students can sign a contract for one year and then return to their civilian life. However, the head of the legal department of the "Movement of Conscientious Objectors" Artem Kliga claims that this is done in violation of current legislation. The lawyer draws attention to the fact that in Russia there are two types of contracts with the Ministry of Defense: a military service contract lasting from one to three years (Article 38 of the Law on Military Duty and Military Service) and a voluntary contract under the Defense Law.
While voluntary contracts are usually signed by Russian civil servants who want to be promoted in the service due to their participation in the war, which the Kremlin calls a "special military operation", students are subject to the standard contract, which is practically indefinite – until a decree of the President of the Russian Federation is issued to terminate partial mobilization, Kliga emphasizes. As an example, he cites both court decisions emphasizing the indefiniteness of contracts, and a recent interview with State Duma deputy Andrei Kartapolov, in which he admitted that students sign a "full-fledged contract". That is, this is not a special student program, but an ordinary contract with the Ministry of Defense, concludes Kliga.
The law also does not provide any guarantees that students will necessarily serve in the unmanned aerial vehicle units. The final distribution takes place only after the student signs the contract, says the lawyer. "If you have signed and do not meet the requirements, they will not cancel your military service contract because of this, but will simply transfer you to another branch of the military and to another military position - with a separate order from the commander," explains Artem Kliga.
What do students think about the agitation
In the thematic student channels on Telegram, users are skeptical about the promises of the Russian authorities. "I wouldn't trust the guys that this is about a certain branch of the army. They don't bear any responsibility if someone is transferred to another combat unit", writes one of the users. Another recalls the story of two drone operators with the call signs "Goodwin" (Sergey Gritsay) and "Ernest" (Dmitry Lisakovsky), whose unit was disbanded due to a conflict with the command, and the two ended up at the front, where they quickly lost their lives.
Yuri also calls not to believe the propaganda leaflets and notes that girls are also being recruited on a contract: "They will probably be sent as nurses", he says.
To the front instead of working at a military enterprise
Sometimes the promises made to students do not correspond to what happens after the contract is signed. The human rights project "Disappear" cites the testimonies of students from Petrovsky College who signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense. They said that they were promised to serve in a military enterprise in St. Petersburg and work with equipment, but were quickly told that they were being sent to the front as drone operators.
Another, with whom DW previously spoke, signed a contract with the military to serve in the headquarters, but was sent to serve in the engineering troops - in a demining unit. Earlier this year, it became known that he died in the Kharkiv region.
Yuri says that so far he does not know of any signed contracts with students at his university. However, he fears that few students think about the possible consequences. Some come to the conclusion on their own that no amount of money can compensate you if you become disabled or are killed. That is why Yuri is trying to indirectly warn candidates.
He assumes that the format of the campaign may soon change - to start talking to students individually to convince them to sign a contract. "Universities are turning into barracks. My humanistic vision does not allow me to send my own students there", Yuri also told DV.
*name changed by the editors for security reasons
Author: Evgeniy Dyukov