At a meeting with the deans of the largest Russian universities, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Valery Valkov said that at least 2% of students must sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense. About this He writes Fridelli, with reference to a friend of the rector of one of the Moscow universities, this information was confirmed by the interlocutor of the publication in the administration of one of the Siberian universities.
The meeting was held in early 2026.
According to data for 2025, 2.2 million men studied at Russian universities. If the universities adhere to the requirements of the authorities, 44 thousand people will sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense. If technical schools faced the same plan, that number would rise to 76,000, Fredelli noted.
The fact that students began to be recruited to conclude contracts with the Ministry of Defense and sent to the war in Ukraine became known at the end of 2025. Students, in particular, are lured by separate additional payments from the university and intimidated by refusal to take back the “tails”. Students are mostly recruited into unmanned forces.
father Information Important Stories The Russian Ministry of Defense plans to recruit 78.8 thousand people into the forces of unmanned systems by the end of 2026. The documents at the publication’s disposal stated that 58 thousand people should be recruited from students, graduates of drone control courses, former military personnel of aviation units and “citizens” with appropriate training. It is planned to recruit the remaining 20.8 thousand military personnel by transferring conscripts and serving military personnel from other units to contracts.