Russia recruits young African women to produce attack UAVs, – media

“Employers” plan to lure thousands of women to Russia.

Russia has likely launched a large-scale program on the African continent to recruit young women to work in Tatarstan – to assemble strike drones used for attacks on Ukraine.

As Bloomberg reports , Russia is developing a global cooperation program in Africa, and local residents are promised training and work in the Alabuga special economic zone.

The flyers and promotional materials depict smiling young African women working as technicians and waitresses. However, according to media reports, the reality of life and work at Alabuz is much bleaker than the advertisements portray. The podcast’s senior reporter Anthony Sguazzin investigated whether the claims about the program are true.

According to the publication, instead of providing real employment opportunities, the program can expose young African women to risks – up to working in conditions close to combat zones. Journalists note that young African women are becoming targets for unscrupulous “employers” from Russia. In particular, in Tatarstan, they are forced to work at a factory producing drones (and, possibly, other munitions) in exhausting, dangerous conditions and for much less money than promised.

Job fairs are held for potential workers, one of which was in Botswana, for example. There, a number of vacancies were advertised – offering work and training in the hospitality and repair business.

Participants in the “special program” are being recruited for quite decent money (over $800 per month), and women aged 18 to 22 are being recruited. It is noted that in 2025, the “employers” plan to lure thousands of women from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Nigeria and other African countries to Russia. They are lured with high-paying jobs in Russia and Europe, buy plane tickets, and are also convinced that, having acquired certain skills, they will be able to return home “ready for a prosperous future.”

According to the investigator, there are testimonies from people who returned after participating in the “project.” They claim that they did not live up to the promises, but were forced to work in hazardous industries.

As noted, there are reasonable suspicions that the “products”, the production of which involves Africans, are used by the Russian Federation in the war against Ukraine. Thus, foreign “specialists” are also exposed to danger due to attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, for which the military plants of the aggressor country are a legitimate target. Probably, the “recruitment” in Africa is carried out in connection with the increased needs of the Russian labor market, associated with the so-called “SVO”.

According to Western media reports, Interpol in Botswana has launched an investigation into the Alabuga Start recruitment program, which promises young African women jobs and training. But in reality, it is linked to human trafficking and the production of military drones. The program operates in Russia’s “special economic zone” “Alabuga” in Tatarstan.

Interpol’s investigation was launched after the office’s staff noticed suspicious recruitment posts on social media. According to a 2024 report by the US Institute for Science and International Security, more than 90% of the women recruited could have been sent to assemble Shahed drones.

Russia is recruiting people for war – what is known

It was previously reported that Russia is recruiting Siberian homeless people for the war against Ukraine. According to volunteers and workers at homeless shelters, the recruitment campaign occurs from time to time.

Recruiters quite often appear in shelters, where they agitate to join the army of the aggressor country. They bring leaflets and urge people to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense.

(C)UNIAN 2025