Russian authorities try to recruit students to make up for soldiers shortages in drone regiments
A billboard advertising a job in the Russian army reads "New. Irreplaceable" in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on January 23, 2026. DMITRI LOVETSKY/AP Still on the lookout for new recruits to feed its war machine, the Kremlin has been trying to enlist students into Russia's drone operator regiments, which, according to official propaganda, have become the new vehicle for social mobility.
- ▪A billboard advertising a job in the Russian army reads "New.
- ▪Irreplaceable" in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on January 23, 2026.
- ▪DMITRI LOVETSKY/AP Still on the lookout for new recruits to feed its war machine, the Kremlin has been trying to enlist students into Russia's drone operator regiments, which, according to official propaganda, have become the new vehicle fo
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A billboard advertising a job in the Russian army reads "New. Irreplaceable" in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on January 23, 2026. DMITRI LOVETSKY/AP Still on the lookout for new recruits to feed its war machine, the Kremlin has been trying to enlist students into Russia's drone operator regiments, which, according to official propaganda, have become the new vehicle for social mobility. To encourage young people to sign up, information sessions, "lessons in courage," and video-screen drone tournaments have been regularly organized in universities and technical high schools. These sessions have taken place under the supervision of military recruitment offices and combatants. These recruiters promise future drone operators that they will see nothing of the war.
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