Ukrainian soldier crashes university Zoom call with Russian recruits

A masked Ukrainian soldier appeared on a conference call during a military recruitment drive at a university in Krasnodar, southern Russia. Photo montage

A Ukrainian soldier crashed a military recruitment event at a Russian university, telling students he would be forced to kill them if they joined the army.

The masked soldier appeared on a conference call during what was described as a military outreach session at the Kuban State Agrarian University in Krasnodar, southern Russia.

Wearing dark sunglasses, the surprise guest first posed as a member of Russia’s elite Rubicon drone unit, before suddenly dropping the pretence and revealing himself as Ukrainian, vowing to kill any enlistees.

He said: “I am, in fact, a soldier but not a Russian one. I am Ukrainian. And I want to tell you this: God forbid you come here, I will have no choice but to kill you, each and every one of you who signs a contract.”

Shortly after his pledge, he appeared to be cut off from the call by university staff, but not before he had warned them that “your faces are all recorded”.

The ruse was co-ordinated by Ukrainian intelligence services, according to United24 Media, a state-affiliated Ukrainian news website.

The unidentified soldier is not the first Ukrainian to expose apparent gaps in Russia’s digital security this week.

On Monday Evgeny Volnov, a Ukrainian comedian, posted a clip of himself infiltrating a closed-door conference call of top Russian officials.

Volnov revealed his presence on the call by threatening participants, saying: “All your faces are recorded, so watch your backs. You, the bald one, first.”

Moscow has been aggressively recruiting from universities for its unmanned systems forces since January, analysts say.

According to Farida Rustamova, a Russian journalist, universities have been handed quotas of about 2% of students for military recruitment.

Students have been promised salaries from 7 million roubles ($158,000) annually to become drone operators, along with free tuition for the remainder of their studies.

- The Telegraph

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