Swapping degrees for drones

In this file pic, workers can be seen installing anti-drone netting along a road in eastern Ukraine. Russia launched its Unmanned System Forces as a separate branch of the military in November, after Ukraine did the same. — Finbarr O’reilly/The New York Times

DANIIL took a medical leave from his studies in St Petersburg, Russia, and ultimately lost his place at university.

Then this February, more than a year later, an email from the university arrived with a surprise offer: he could be reinsta­ted as a student. All he needed to do was sign a contract to serve for a year in the Russian military’s drone force.