Russia Drafts Students in Occupied Ukraine into Drone Units

Russia's Defense Ministry is systematically recruiting students at universities and colleges in the occupied territories of Ukraine into drone units, according to findings by the Donbass Realities project, as cited by the Ukrainian news agency Unian. Recruitment is taking place at least eight universities and five colleges in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including institutions operating as replicas of the original Ukrainian universities.

University management is also involved in the process. Students are able to submit documents directly in faculty offices or at dedicated military registration desks. Some universities organize recruitment through their own student sections.

According to the project's journalists, recruiters attract candidates by emphasizing supposedly safe conditions of service, the option to terminate contracts after one year, high salaries and the prestige of serving as a drone operator.

Separately, broader Russian plans for the occupied territories are coming into focus. Sources cited by the portal indicate that Moscow intends to relocate nearly 114,000 Russians to the region by 2045. The plans include the construction of more than 13 million square meters of housing, dozens of schools and medical facilities, and extensive infrastructure including thousands of kilometers of roads and railways.

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