Russia deceitfully luring African women to assemble Shahed drones – AP
Photo: illustrative (Getty Images)
Russia is luring young women from African, Asian, and Latin American countries into assembling attack drones under the false promise of education or jobs in Europe, Associated Press reports.
Social media platforms promised young women from Africa free tickets to Europe, money, and internships in fields like hospitality and catering.
However, instead of the expected programs, some only learned the true purpose of their trip after arriving in Tatarstan. They were to work at a factory producing attack drones for the war in Ukraine.
"I don’t really know how to make drones," complained one of the women who had left her job in her home country for this offer.
In interviews, several women spoke about long working hours, constant supervision, and working with chemicals that caused skin problems.
They also said that the promised salary turned out to be much lower than expected.
According to the AP, over 200 African women, along with Russian students, are working at a factory in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone. The factory produces Iranian Shahed-136 drones under a contract with Russia, signed after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
"I regret and I curse the day I started making all those things," said one of the women who worked on assembling drone frames.
It was previously reported that the Russian forces in the temporarily seized territories of Ukraine are recruiting students, including minors, for internships at a Russian factory where Iranian kamikaze drones, the Shahed, are produced.
Since the beginning of this year, Russia has launched about 1,000 missiles, around 2,800 drones, and nearly 7,000 guided bombs at Ukraine. Most of the Russian targets were civilian, not military.
