In early 2023, teenagers in Russia were permitted to sign military contracts immediately upon turning 18 without any restrictions. Around the same time, “veterans of the SVO” began making regular visits to schools and colleges, urging schoolchildren and college students to go to the front. Then, in late 2025, a mass drive to recruit for drone units swept through vocational colleges and universities: students were promised they would earn good money, serve only a year, and be stationed far from the front — none of which turned out to be true.