Nigerians, Other African Women Recruited On Social Media To Work In Russia Say They Were Deceived Into Building Ukraine-Bound Drones

Young African women have been deceived by enticing social media advertisements that claim to offer free plane tickets, financial rewards, and thrilling adventures in Europe.

They were only required to complete a computer game and a 100-word Russian vocabulary test.

However, upon arriving in Tatarstan, Russia, they discovered they would instead be working in a factory, assembling Iranian-designed attack drones intended for use in Ukraine, rather than participating in work-study programs in hospitality and catering.

In interviews with The Associated Press, several women expressed their dissatisfaction, recounting long hours under constant surveillance, broken promises regarding wages and study areas, and exposure to caustic chemicals that have left their skin pockmarked and itching.

To address a pressing labor shortage in wartime Russia, the Kremlin has been recruiting women aged 18 to 22 from countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka, with recruitment efforts expanding to other parts of Asia and Latin America.

This recruitment has placed critical roles in Moscow’s weapons production into the hands of around 200 African women, who work alongside Russian vocational students as young as 16 at a factory in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, located about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) east of Moscow.

“I don’t really know how to make drones,” remarked one African woman who left her job at home to take the Russian offer.

The AP’s investigation included satellite image analysis of the industrial complex, review of internal documents, interviews with several African women employed there, and the discovery of numerous videos from the online recruitment program titled “Alabuga Start,” which together reveal the challenging reality of their working conditions.