In an effort to draw students into non-combat roles, a leading Moscow university is dangling substantial signing bonuses. However, legal authorities caution that these recruitment tactics might be misleading, inadvertently placing young scholars in the heart of conflict.

The Higher School of Economics, along with other Russian academic institutions, is offering students lucrative incentives to join military ranks, with promises of bonuses amounting to 5.2 million rubles (approximately $68,600 USD), according to The Moscow Times.

Students are assured that their enlistment involves a one-year commitment in the Russian military’s drone operations, which are portrayed as being safely distanced from the Ukrainian conflict’s front lines.

Nonetheless, Russian advocacy groups argue that these students are being misled into believing they are safe, while in reality, they might be dispatched to the battlefield, the media outlet noted.

Artyom Klyga, a legal expert with the Movement for Conscientious Objectors, highlighted on Telegram, “In truth, you could end up on the front lines, even serving within an assault unit.”

Klyga said all Russian military contracts are indefinite due to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s 2022 mobilization decree at the onset of his invasion.

The Higher School of Economics is a highly regarded university, but has found itself subject to criticism for being too closely aligned with Putin, the outlet reported.

The Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, the Siberian Federal University and the Shukhov Belgorod State Technological University are also engaged in similar deceptive recruitment campaigns, The Moscow Times reported.