Ukrainian initiative publishes list of more than 1,000 Russian students who reportedly joined drone forces
The Ukrainian state-funded project I Want To Live has published a list of 1,059 students from Russian higher education institutions who have joined the Russian Defence Ministry's unmanned forces. Novaya Gazeta Europe has independently verified a portion of the entries.
More than half of those named are first- or second-year students. Around 80% are young men between the ages of 18 and 21.
Novaya Europe spot-checked 37 students from the list and confirmed their personal details, occupation, and place of study. Four of those contacted confirmed they are currently enrolled and have signed contracts to serve in drone units.
One student who is in the final year of a medical programme told Novaya Europe he signed a one-year contract in March 2026 and was subsequently assigned to a UAV repair company. “Signing the contract gives me a route to state-funded study,” he said.
Students from European Russia appear on the list in strikingly small numbers. The Kursk, Stavropol, and Nizhny Novgorod regions each contribute a single recruit, while the Moscow region accounts for just two: a third-year student at K.G. Razumovsky Moscow State University of Technologies and Management and a fourth-year student at the FSB's Moscow Border Institute. Why no other universities in Moscow or St. Petersburg feature in the document is unclear. I Want To Live did not respond to Novaya Europe's request for comment on the source of the list.
The bulk of recruits come from Siberia, the Urals, and the Volga region, spanning 42 different regions in total. The highest concentrations are in the Kemerovo region, Krasnoyarsk Krai, the Penza region, Tatarstan, and the Novosibirsk region.
Students from vocational and technical colleges make up the majority of those listed, though recruits from several prominent universities also appear, including Siberian Federal University (17 students), Tomsk State University (11), South Ural State University (11), Tyumen State University (seven), Ural Federal University (five), and Kazan Federal University (two).
