Russian Universities Have Been Given A Quota On Sending Students To War

The task was set before the rectors by the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.

Russian authorities have demanded that the country's largest universities send at least 2% of their students to war. The corresponding task was set by Russian Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov before the rectors of educational institutions in early 2026, informed sources told Faridaily.

According to the data for 2025, 2.2 million men were studying in Russian universities. If educational institutions fulfill the authorities' requirement, 44,000 men will sign contracts with the Defense Ministry. If the same plan is set for technical schools, that number will increase to 76,000, according to Faridaily.

Administrations of universities and technical schools across Russia have been persistently offering students to take a leave of absence and sign a contract with the Defense Ministry since the end of last year. Students are lured by separate additional payments and intimidated by the refusal to retake "tails". The students are mostly recruited to join the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF). According to "Important Stories", the military department plans to recruit 78.8 thousand people to the new branch of troops by the end of 2026. The documents consulted by the publication said that 58,000 people should be recruited from students, graduates of UAV management courses, former members of aviation units and "female citizens" with appropriate training. The remaining 20,800 servicemen are planned to be recruited by transferring conscripts and active military personnel from other units.

The recruitment of Russians to the UAV has stalled, pro-war bloggers wrote. At the moment, in regions that have already been "vacuumed up by recruitment," only "a rather specific contingent, the least suitable to become the backbone of a new high-tech branch of the military," noted Z-blogger Alexei Chadaev. According to him, potentially promising citizens refuse the contract, fearing transfer to the assault infantry and indefinite service.

Before that, lawyer Artyom Klyga pointed out that the contracts proposed by the Defense Ministry for service in the VBS involve sending people to the infantry in case they are found unfit to operate drones. In addition, such contracts would be valid until the end of mobilization in Russia, the decree on which Vladimir Putin has not yet signed.

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