Top Russian Energy University Urges Students to Recruit Relatives for Drone Units

Ufa State Petroleum Technological University (USPTU), a primary institution for Russia’s oil and gas sector, is encouraging its students to recruit friends and family members for military service.

A message reportedly shared in a student chat invited students to bring in acquaintances to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense, according to Groza on April 27.

The recruitment drive focuses on the Unmanned Systems Troops. This branch of the military has reportedly been targeting students since the start of the year as the influx of contract soldiers decreases and losses mount during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“If your acquaintance, friend, brother, or another person you know wants to sign a contract, they can do so with the help of our university!” the message stated. To facilitate this, the university is reportedly offering to enroll these recruits in additional education programs or provide them with staff positions at the institution.

Those who sign contracts through the university are promised a payment of 500,000 rubles ($5,130). This comes in addition to a regional bonus that reached 1 million rubles ($10,260) on January 1, 2026.

The university is also offering incentives to the students themselves. Students paying for their education are told they can transfer to state-funded spots in any specialty upon their return from service. The message claims this applies even to programs where no government-funded spots currently exist, stating that in those cases, “the university will pay for the studies” itself. For further details, students were directed to the deputy director for youth policy.

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The trade union of the university’s Institute of Oil and Gas Engineering and Digital Technologies is also promoting service in drone units. Advertisements on social media urge students to “become a hero in real life” and claim that service would take place “at a distance from the front line.” These specific posts did not mention the employment or enrollment offers for outside recruits, according to The Moscow Times.

USPTU is a major educational hub for Russia’s chemical technology, energy, and digital engineering sectors. It is officially listed as a flagship university for Gazprom and Sibur, and serves as a strategic partner for Rosneft.

In a similar instance in March, students at another major institution, the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, were reportedly sent to drone pilot courses instead of their regular classes. Those who refused were allegedly threatened with expulsion.

Russian educational institutions acted as a primary funnel for the Kremlin’s newly established Unmanned Systems Forces, with at least 91 universities and 112 vocational schools actively recruiting students.

Recruitment tactics ranged from high-pressure sales to outright deception, such as at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, where students were pulled from classes for meetings with officials who lectured them on the benefits of drone service.

In more extreme cases, universities used academic failure as a tool for mobilization, with administrators at Voronezh State University of Forestry Technologies offering military contracts as the only alternative to expulsion. Additionally, Russian security agencies intensified their presence in schools across occupied Ukrainian territories, promoting military education as part of routine career guidance to address a severe personnel deficit.

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