The Ministry of Education from the Sverdlovsk region, at the initiative of the military commissariat, proposed to the leadership of the Ural Federal University to recruit students with poor grades to be sent to war in Ukraine. The letter from the Deputy Minister of Education, Evgheni Biriuk, addressed to the university rector, Viktor Koksharov, was published by the independent student union of UrFU.The document mentions that students who are struggling academically, have failed exams or are at risk of being expelled, should be convinced to sign a contract with the Ministry of Defense. Those who agree will not be expelled from the university, but will instead be granted an academic leave and will be able to resume their studies after completing their military service.The idea of starting recruitment from universities belongs to the military commissioner of the Sverdlovsk region, Colonel Yuri Aksenov. He addressed the deputy governor, Vasili Kozlov, claiming that this practice already exists in “several regions” of Russia. In this context, Aksenov requested for the initiative to be expanded to other universities in the Urals, justifying the request by the need to fulfill President Vladimir Putin’s “order” to increase the number of soldiers through contracts.
