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Russian College Threatens Students With Conscription if They Refuse Drone Training for War
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In the Russian city of Anzhero-Sudzhensk, Kemerovo region, students at the Polytechnic College are being pressured to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense for “UAV training,” with threats of being sent to the frontlines if they refuse.
According to The Moscow Times on April 21, this was reported by the social media page “Incident Kuzbass,” which published an audio recording of a meeting between the college's deputy director, Oksana Fedorova, and one of the students.
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The recording, allegedly sent by a soldier currently serving in the Russian army since 2022, sheds light on the coercive practices taking place.
The conversation, in which Fedorova appears to be speaking with the struggling student and potentially their parents, suggests that if the student fails or refuses to participate, their personal details would be immediately sent to the local military commissariat, where they would face conscription orders.
In the audio, Fedorova explains to the student, “If you fail, your data will go directly to the military enlistment office, and you will immediately receive a summons.”
According to The Moscow Times, she further asserted that conscripts who join the Ministry of Defense's UAV training program would face an 80% chance of being sent to fight in the war in Ukraine. The alternative, she says, is being forced into combat without the training.
“You’ll have no options: either UAV training or simply signing a contract as cannon fodder directly to the frontline,” Fedorova said.
She also spoke about previous recruits who had volunteered to go to war but did not survive long, mentioning that a memorial plaque was dedicated to 35 fallen soldiers.
In response to increasing military manpower demands amid the ongoing war, Russian authorities have mandated that at least 2% of the student population from the country’s top universities be recruited into military service.
The order, issued in early 2026 by Russia's Minister of Science and Higher Education, Valery Falkov, directs university rectors to assist in enrolling students for military service under contracts with the Ministry of Defense.
According to data from 2025, approximately 2.2 million men are currently enrolled in Russian higher education institutions. If the directive is fully implemented, it could result in the recruitment of around 44,000 students into the military.
If similar recruitment quotas are applied to vocational schools and technical colleges, the total number of recruits could potentially increase to approximately 76,000.
At the same time, fewer than 2,000 students have signed contracts to join Russia's Unmanned Systems Forces following a nationwide recruitment drive across universities and colleges, according to pro-Kremlin blogger Alexander Vaskovsky.
The campaign included presentations by military personnel, lectures, and the distribution of promotional materials designed to encourage students to enlist.
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