Moscow is turning African women into hostages of the secret production of lethal drones. In the Republic of Tatarstan, within the Alabuga special economic zone, Shahed drones have been hand-assembled for over a year, mostly by young women from Uganda, Mali, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Sudan, Le Monde reports.
The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime reports that Alabuga Start brought them in through online recruiting. The company is now expanding into Latin America and South Asia.
“The deceptive nature of recruitment and the repressive working conditions may constitute a form of fraudulent exploitation,” the investigation states.
The women were not warned that they would be working in weapons manufacturing. Many believed it was a training program. However, the reality was horrific: long working days, constant supervision, harmful chemical exposure, punitive management, racism, and excessive surveillance.
Recruitment took place through social networks, intermediaries, and Russian embassies in Africa. Some recruits work directly on drone assembly, others as cleaners and kitchen staff.
The Alabuga special economic zone, financed by the Russian Ministry of Defense, has become an example of how “business, crime, and state” intertwine to strengthen Russia’s military machine.
In response to complaints, Botswana police have already appealed to Interpol to investigate human trafficking in this case.