Russian Authorities Oblige Sending At Least 2% of Students as Contract Soldiers to the Army
In Russia, higher education has received a state order for cannon fodder.
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At a closed meeting in early 2026, the Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov informed the rectors of the largest Russian universities that at least 2% of students must sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense, Faridaily writes.
University and technical school administrations across Russia are insistently offering students to take academic leave, sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense for at least a year, and go to war with Ukraine. The first reports about this appeared back in December 2025. Starting in February 2026, they became widespread.
According to last year's data, 2.2 million men were studying in Russian universities. If universities manage to fulfill the ministry's requirement, the Russian army will additionally receive at least 44,000 fighters. If the 2% plan was also set for technical schools, then a total of 76,000 young people will sign contracts.
The authorities are trying to attract students primarily to drone troops. This is a new separate branch of the military that appeared in the Russian army last autumn. Previously, military personnel working with drones were part of ground, air, or naval army units (depending on specialization).
According to documents prepared by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for internal use and erroneously published on the websites of some colleges, Russian authorities plan to recruit 78,800 people into drone troops this year, including students.
Even first-year students, who are mostly 18-20 years old, can sign contracts.
If a student has academic performance issues, they may be threatened with expulsion. If they agree, the administration promises to overlook poor academic performance and even develop an individual study plan for the student when they return from the war.
Young people are promised that they will be able to return to their studies after the contract ends, and are also reminded of high state payments and benefits for participants in the war against Ukraine. In addition, the standard set of bonuses includes the opportunity to transfer from a paid department to a state-funded one. Some wealthier universities – for example, MSU and SPbSU – promise students additional payments at their own expense.
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