Russia pressures university students to become wartime drone pilots
Summary
Russian universities are offering free tuition and large payments to students who agree to serve as drone pilots in the military for one year. Despite promises that these students will avoid frontline combat in Ukraine, there have been confirmed deaths among the recruited drone pilots.Key Facts
- Russian universities offer free tuition and up to $70,000 to students who serve as military drone pilots for one year.
- These offers include incentives like tax breaks, loan forgiveness, and sometimes free land.
- At least 270 Russian universities have military recruitment contracts to encourage students to become drone pilots.
- The recruitment targets about 2 million male university students with skills in drones, electronics, and computers.
- Russia aims to have 168,000 drone operators by the end of 2026.
- The first known death of a Russian student drone pilot was 23-year-old Valery Averin, who died in a mortar attack near Luhansk.
- Russia has lost about 1.3 million soldiers since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
- Many students do not want to join, and the effort may reduce Russia’s future skilled workforce.
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