African women lured to produce Russian war drones, 8 July 2025

A Ukrainian drone in late April hit the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia’s Tatarstan region, where kamikaze drones are made by factory workers, many of them women from Africa. Although there were no reported casualties, several African women were wounded last year in a similar drone attack on the Alabuga factory, about 1,000 kilometers east of Moscow.

African women working at the factory may not have realized they would be working in a war zone when they applied for their jobs. Many responded to social media ads promising employment with good pay and a new life in Russia. The advertising photos showed women smiling as they cleaned floors and wearing hard hats while directing cranes at a factory in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia.

The ads, targeting workers from countries such as Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Uganda, included videos with upbeat music that showed African women visiting Tatarstan’s cultural sites or playing sports. They promoted a program called “Alabuga Start” that touted a free plane ticket to Europe and a well-paying job upon arrival...

However, the vast majority of recruits are involved in manufacturing drones, according to the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.

The drones are used by the Russian military to target Ukraine, that frequently, results in civilian deaths...

African women are forced to manufacture drones under hazardous, grueling conditions and are paid much less than promised. One worker told The Associated Press the job was “a trap,” adding that the cost of accommodations, airfare, medical care and Russian-language classes were deducted from her salary. She said the African workers were treated “like donkeys.”

“I don’t think many [African women] know about the firm’s bad labor practices,” an Ethiopian woman, who canceled her Alabuga Start application after reading about the factory online, told The Economist.

The women also are forced to handle toxic materials, which is forbidden in Russian labor law, David Albright, founder of the Institute for Science and International Security, told VOA. Investigations by Protokol, a Russian independent media outlet, showed that the company also has a record of surveilling workers involved in drone manufacturing and keeping details about production secret...

“The lack of response from the governments of the African countries involved is striking,” according to the report, which characterized Russia’s recruitment efforts as human trafficking...

Interpol began investigating Alabuga Start for possible involvement in human trafficking after the company’s social media posts were brought to the organization’s attention...