Takeaways from an AP investigation into Russia recruiting Africans to make drones for use in Ukraine

About 200 women aged 18 to 22 from across Africa have been recruited to work in a factory, along with Russian vocational students, assembling thousands of Iranian-designed attack drones to be launched in Ukraine.

In interviews with The Associated Press, some women said they were misled that it would be a work-study program, describing long hours under constant supervision, broken promises about wages and courses of study, and working with caustic chemicals that left their skin. pockmarked and itchy.

The AP analyzed satellite images of the complex in the Russian republic of Tatarstan and leaked internal documents, spoke to six African women who ended up there and tracked down hundreds of videos in the online recruitment program to map life in the factory. in what is called the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) east of Moscow.

What you need to know from AP’s reporting:

Plans to make 6,000 drones per year

Russia and Iran signed a $1.7 billion deal in 2022 after President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of neighboring Ukraine, and Moscow began launching Iranian drone imports later that year.

Satellite images show that the Alabuga factory was expanding rapidly.

It is now Russia’s main factory for making exploding one-way drones, with plans to produce 6,000 a year by 2025, according to internal documents and the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security.

Facing a labor shortage in wartime Russia, Alabuga has recruited people from African countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, as well as from the South Asian country of Sri Lanka. The drive is spreading elsewhere in Asia and Latin America.

About 90% of foreign women recruited through a campaign called “Alabuga Start” are manufacturing drones, according to David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector who now works at the Institute for Science and International Security. The documents show that the women largely assemble the drones, use chemicals and paint them. The AP has learned that some women have left the factory but are discouraged from doing so by management.

Constant supervision and harsh chemicals

According to a worker who assembled drones, the foreign workers travel by bus from their living quarters to the factory, passing through multiple security checkpoints.

They share dormitories and kitchens that are “guarded around the clock,” Alabuga’s social media posts say.

Foreigners receive local SIM cards upon arrival, but cannot take phones to the factory. Four women said they could not talk freely to outsiders and one suggested that her messages were being tapped.

The woman who assembled drones said recruits assembled them and coated them with a corrosive substance the consistency of yogurt. Many workers lack protective equipment, she said, adding that the chemicals made her feel like her face was being poked with tiny needles, and “little holes” appeared on her cheeks, making them itchy.

Disagreement about pay

Although one woman said she enjoyed working at Alabuga because she was well paid and wanted to experience a different culture and people, most of those interviewed by AP disagreed about the compensation and suggested that life there did not meet their expectations.

The program initially promised $700 per month, but later social media posts put it at “over $500.”

One African woman said she could not send money home because of banking sanctions on Russia, but another said she was sending up to $150 a month.

Four women described long shifts of up to 12 hours, with random days off, but some suggested they could tolerate it if they could send money home.

Human rights groups said they were not aware of what happened at the factory, although they said it sounded consistent with other actions by Russia in recruiting foreigners.

Russia’s actions “could potentially meet the criteria of human trafficking if the recruitment is fraudulent and the purpose is exploitation,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, noting that Moscow is a party to the UN Convention. Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

The AP contacted governments of 22 countries whose citizens Alabuga said had recruited into the program. Most didn’t answer or said they would look into it.

Betty Amongi, Uganda’s minister of gender, labor and social development, told AP that her ministry had raised concerns with the embassy in Moscow about the recruitment, especially the age of the women, because “female migrant workers are the most vulnerable category. ”

The ministry said it wanted to ensure the women “do not end up in exploitative jobs” and needed to know who was responsible for their well-being while they were in Russia. Alabuga’s Facebook page said there were 46 Ugandan women in the complex, although Amongi had said there were none.

How accurate are the drones they make?

Backed by the Alabuga recruits, Russia has vastly increased the number of drones it can fire into Ukraine.

Nearly 4,000 were launched against Ukraine from the start of the war in February 2022 through 2023, the Institute for Science and International Security said. In the first seven months of this year, Russia launched almost double that amount.

An AP analysis of about 2,000 Shahed attacks documented by the Ukrainian military since July 29 shows that about 95% of the drones hit no discernible target but crashed in Ukraine or flew out of the airspace.

The failure rate could be due to Ukraine’s improved air defenses or poor craftsmanship among the low-skilled workforce. Another factor could be that Russia is using a Shahed variant without explosives to overwhelm its air defenses.

The social media plan

The ‘Alabuga Start’ recruitment campaign relies on a robust social media campaign featuring tightly edited videos of smiling African women cleaning floors, operating cranes or visiting Tatarstan’s cultural sites. They fail to mention the factory’s role at the heart of Russian drone production.

The program was promoted by the ministries of education in Uganda and Ethiopia, as well as by African media, which portrayed it as a way to earn money and learn skills.

Initially advertised as a work-study program, Alabuga Start’s newer posts say it is “NOT an educational program,” although one still shows young women in plaid school uniforms.

Last month, the social media site said it was “excited to announce that our audience has grown significantly!” That could be due to hiring influencers to promote it on TikTok, describing it as an easy way to make money.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Biesecker in Washington and Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.