Russia pressures university students to become wartime drone pilots
Bad education
Universities promise no frontline duty and perks if students enlist in military.
Shaman, a 19-year-old drone operator for the Russian military, flies a quadcopter drone during a demonstration event organized by members of the Berkut Military-Sports Cossack Club in a shopping centre in Voronezh, Russia on January 24, 2026. Credit: TATYANA MAKEYEVA / AFP via Getty Images
Russian universities are promising free tuition and up to $70,000 to students who are willing to serve as drone pilots in the Russian military for a year—all while claiming students can avoid the risk of frontline combat duty in Ukraine. But there has already been one confirmed battlefield death and possibly more among the new cadre of student drone pilots.
That specific recruitment offer appeared on pamphlets distributed at Bauman Moscow State Technical University, according to Bloomberg. Other universities have dangled incentives such as tax holidays, loan forgiveness, and sometimes...
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