The Russian Defense Ministry has no plans to force students to sign contracts to participate in the war as part of the unmanned systems force. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Defense – Head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces Viktor Goremykin.
“The contract is based on the principle of voluntariness. We have no intention of forcing students to participate,” Goremykin said at a meeting with the participation of the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Education and university rectors.
According to him, the Ministry of Defense imposes a direct ban on the transfer of military personnel from the forces of unmanned systems to other units without their consent. These instructions will be sent to the forces by the end of 2026.
The Deputy Minister said: “The instructions stipulate a ban on the movement of military personnel from the forces of unmanned systems to other units of the military unit, the use of military personnel in the forces of unmanned systems only for their intended purpose, and strict compliance with the conditions and obligations stipulated in the contract and its annex.”
According to Goremykin, “With the entry of citizens into the forces of unmanned systems, the contract is concluded for a period of one year.”
The fact that students began to be recruited to conclude contracts with the Ministry of Defense and be sent to the war in Ukraine became known at the end of 2025. Students are mostly recruited into unmanned forces. by 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. At the same time, 58 thousand people should be recruited from students, graduates of drone control courses, former military personnel of aviation units and “citizens” with appropriate training.
Fridelli wrote that the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Valery Valkov, said at a meeting with the deans of the largest Russian universities, in early 2026, that at least 2% of students should sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense. 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.