African women produce Russian drones for use in Ukraine

The recruitment takes place with the help of advertisements in social media where the women are promised a free plane ticket, money and an experience-rich stay in Europe. The only thing required is to play a computer game and take a Russian language test where you have to know 100 words.

But instead of a stay with training and work in, for example, a service profession, some of them have first learned that there is something completely different to do when they land in the steppe landscape of the Russian sub-republic of Tatarstan. A tiring factory job awaits there to make weapons to be used in the war in Ukraine, more specifically to assemble parts for thousands of attack drones, identical to those Russia is said to have previously received from Iran.

The American news agency AP has interviewed several of the women. They tell of long working days under constant surveillance, and of broken promises both in terms of pay and studies. They have to work with caustic chemicals that itch and scar the skin.

Lack of manpower

Russia currently has record low unemployment, and many Russians are already involved in the war in Ukraine, not least as soldiers.

This is the reason why the country has recruited women between the ages of 18 and 22 from countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, as well as from Sri Lanka in South Asia. Recruitment has also been extended to other countries in Asia and Latin America.

Some of Russia’s most important weapons production has thus ended up in the hands of around 200 African women who work side by side with Russian vocational students, some of them only 15-16 years old, as well as Central Asians aged 18-22 who are training to become “drone specialists”. The factories are located in a special economic zone called Alabuga, which has been established in Tatarstan about 100 miles east of Moscow.

The revelations of what kind of conditions the women work under come from AP’s own investigations, based on, among other things, satellite images and leaked internal documents. The news agency has also downloaded hundreds of videos that the Russians use in recruitment, as well as talking to several of the women who have ended up in the factories. For the sake of their security, they are anonymised.

– I regret it

– I don’t really know how to make drones, says a woman who left a job in her home country to accept what she thought was a lucrative Russian offer.

On her way to Russia, she took a series of selfies to share her happiness with friends and acquaintances. She took pictures of herself at the airport and made a video of the meal she got on the plane. Only when she arrived in Alabuga did she understand that she had been tricked.

– The company does nothing other than make drones. Nothing else. I regret and I curse the days I started making all these things, says the woman.

The only thing that could have revealed what they were really up to is that the language test contained words like “factory” and the verbs “to hook” and “to hook loose”.

Copies of Iranian drones

The Alabuga zone was established in 2006 to attract business and investors to Tatarstan. After Russia invaded Ukraine, activity in the zone increased sharply, and some of the factories switched to producing weapons and other military equipment.

In the first instance, Iranian-developed drones of the Shahed-136 type were transported to Russia in parts, and then assembled in Russian factories. Now the entire production process takes place in Alabuga and possibly in another factory. The plan is to produce 6,000 of them by 2025, according to leaked documents.

But finding workers is a problem. Alabuga is nevertheless the only Russian factory that recruits women from Africa, Asia and Latin America, according to experts and AP’s own investigation. About 90 percent of the women recruited through the “Alabuga Start program” work in drone production, according to Albright.

Leaked documents also show that the number of employees is increasing sharply and is expected to exceed 2,600 next year.

Orphans attempted to be recruited

In Uganda, separate recruitment meetings have been held for interested women. Attempts have also been made to recruit orphans, shows messages on Alabuga’s own Telegram channel. In addition, more than 26 embassies in Moscow have been visited by Russian authorities who wanted to talk about the programme.

The campaign does not provide an answer as to why only young women are recruited, but some analysts assume that it may be because younger women may be easier to control. A leaked document shows that derogatory terms are used when referring to the African workers.

The foreign women share a bedroom and kitchen and are watched around the clock, according to posts on social media. Facial recognition is used at the entrances and they are monitored by cameras. Every day they are taken by bus to the factory. All foreigners receive a SIM card for their mobile phone when they arrive, but they are not allowed to bring them to the factory.

In addition to assembly, the women are assigned to paint the drones. But they don’t have any protective equipment. One of them tells of intense itching and small holes in the skin of the cheeks. It’s like getting lots of little pinpricks in the face, she explains.

– God, how I itch! I never get tired of scratching myself. Many of the girls are suffering.

Hit in Ukrainian attack

AP has not been able to determine what kind of chemicals are used, but Fabian Hinz, a drone expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, states that corrosive chemicals are used in drone production.

In addition to the harmful substances, the plant is also exposed to Ukrainian attacks. In April, at least twelve people were injured when the facility was hit by a Ukrainian drone. In a video posted online, a Kenyan woman says the attackers are “barbarians trying to scare us”.

One of the women AP has spoken to says she “loves” working at the factory. However, it is not a representation that is shared by the other sources. They say that their wages are deducted to cover expenses for accommodation, food, air travel, health care and Russian courses, and that they are struggling to get the money to cover bus tickets.

One of the women believes they are treated like donkeys and slaves. She also says that the sanctions against Russian banking make it difficult to send money home, while another says that she sends NOK 1,600 home to her family every month.

Four of the women say that the work shift lasts up to twelve hours, and that there are no fixed days off, yet two of them are willing to accept the salary as long as they have the opportunity to send money home.

No response from Russian Foreign Ministry

The AP has reached out to Russia’s foreign ministry, the office of Tatarstan’s governor and the top commander of Alabuga’s special economic zone for comment, but none have responded.

Human rights organizations tell the news agency that they have no knowledge of what is happening at the factory, but according to Human Right Watch it is a well-known fact that Russia is recruiting people from Africa and India for the war effort in Ukraine without them being told what the jobs are really about.

AP has also contacted the authorities in 22 countries where recruitment takes place, but most have not responded.

However, Uganda’s Equality and Labor Minister Betty Amongi says that the recruitment raises concerns, and that they have raised the matter with the country’s embassy in Moscow. The concern is particularly linked to the fact that the women are so young, and possibly vulnerable.

– We want to ensure that the women do not end up in a working relationship where they are exploited, says Amongi’s ministry.