The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine reports that Russia has intensified the recruitment of women from Africa, Asia, and Latin America to work at enterprises in the Alabuga special economic zone in Tatarstan. The main goal is to attract female workers to the production of attack drones used in the war against Ukraine.
The Alabuga Start program involved women from 44 countries in 2024, including Mozambique, Colombia, Mali, and Sri Lanka. Expansion to 77 countries is planned for 2025.
In South Africa, BRICS structures were used for recruitment, in particular the Women's Business Alliance, which signed an agreement to find 5.6 thousand workers for Alabuga. Vacancies were advertised through the BRICS student commission and popular bloggers on Instagram and TikTok.
Women are promised high salaries and career prospects, but are not told that they are working in the production of drones. There have been cases where African women have been lured with promises of internships in the hotel business, and upon arrival, forced to work in inhumane conditions for lower pay. Interpol has launched an investigation in Botswana into suspected human trafficking, and a lawsuit has been filed in Argentina against those who promoted the program.
Russia plans to expand the housing infrastructure of Alabuga to 41 thousand people, and already more than 90% of participants in the "Alabuga Start" program work in this sector. All this indicates plans for even larger-scale drone production.
Previously, Russian propaganda media showed in detail the enterprise in Alabuga where the Geran-2 (Shahed-136) attack drones, which Russia uses to attack Ukrainian infrastructure, are assembled and tested.