Russia sees first confirmed death of student recruited into ‘low-risk’ drone forces

A 23-year-old Russian university student was killed in eastern Ukraine’s occupied Luhansk region in April, BBC News Russian reported on Tuesday, the first confirmed death of a student recruited in Russia’s nationwide university mobilisation campaign.

Valery Averin, who was scheduled to graduate from the Buryat Republican College of Construction and Industrial Technologies this year, signed a contract with the Russian military’s Unmanned Systems Forces in January and subsequently trained as a drone operator.

He was killed on 4 April during a mortar attack, less than 3 months after starting his military service and only two weeks after finishing his training. His death was confirmed on 24 April by a district media channel in the Buryatia region.

Averin's adoptive mother, Oksana Afanasyeva, told the BBC that her son “really wanted to serve, but the army wouldn’t take him, saying he was mentally unstable”.

The BBC found that Averin’s technical college regularly held “courage lessons” to encourage signing military contracts, and in January hosted an exhibition of military weapons, including several drones, for students.

Since late 2025, the Russian Defence Ministry has run a nationwide recruitment campaign targeting students at universities and technical colleges, encouraging students to join on promised short-term contracts as drone operators.

Although serving as a drone pilot is commonly advertised by recruiters as a low-risk position, the BBC found that casualty rates in the recently-formed Unmanned Systems Forces were comparable to those among artillery units.

An investigation by independent media outlet Echo published in February found that students in at least 70 institutions had been targeted by military recruitment efforts. Recruiters allegedly assured students they could combine active military service with their studies, referring to those sent to the front as being on “academic leave”, with discharge guaranteed after one year.

Russian Education and Science Minister Valery Falkov reportedly informed rectors at the country’s largest universities earlier this year that at least 2% of their total student body must enlist to serve in Ukraine.