Students across Russia are being offered substantial financial incentives to join drone units fighting in Ukraine, according to documents and statements from universities. The recruitment drive includes promises of high salaries, fee exemptions, and accommodation, as Moscow seeks to bolster its drone forces amid the ongoing conflict.
The Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok is offering students who sign up for at least one year academic leave, exemption from education fees on return, free accommodation, and grants. The financial package includes a first-year salary from 5.5 million roubles ($68,433), a one-off payment of 2.5 million roubles after training, a monthly allowance of 240,000 roubles, and a 200,000-rouble university payment.
Similar incentives are being offered by the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering and the Russian State Hydrometeorological University in St Petersburg, where drone operators can earn from 7 million roubles ($87,000) per year. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the recruitment offer applies to all, describing it as "a completely open offer to join a new type of unit."
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council, claimed over 400,000 people signed up last year and more than 80,000 this year. However, there have been unconfirmed reports of undue pressure on students, including threats of expulsion, though the defence ministry and universities insist signing up is voluntary.
The recruitment drive coincides with a billboard campaign featuring a young drone operator under the title "the new indispensables." In the Ryazan region, governor Pavel Malkov has ordered companies to set recruitment quotas, with firms of up to 300 workers required to provide two army recruits.
