Students in Russia are being threatened with deployment to the front lines for refusing to train as UAV operators
Students at the Kemerovo Polytechnic College in Anzhero-Sudzhensk are being threatened with deployment to the front lines if they refuse to undergo UAV pilot training.
According to Russian media reports, the college allegedly forces students to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense to undergo training as drone operators. Otherwise, they are threatened with mobilization after being expelled.
An audio recording of a meeting between the college’s deputy director and one of the students suggests that if the young man is expelled, his information will be immediately forwarded to the military registration and enlistment office, after which he may receive a draft notice. It is also claimed that some conscripts are highly likely to sign a contract and end up fighting in the war against Ukraine.
The college representative stated that UAV training is an “alternative to military service” with certain benefits and training, after which students are allegedly not sent directly to the front lines. At the same time, she effectively forced students to choose between contract service and being sent to the front.
She also mentioned during the conversation that previously, some volunteers who went to war were killed within the first month of service.
In Russia, the recruitment of students into the drone forces has failed.
Earlier, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that the invaders’ current strategic goal is to seize additional territories to create a so-called “buffer zone” within the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are adapting military training to effectively counter enemy drones and modern threats on the battlefield.
