Russia recruiting South African women for drone factories through BRICS
Illustrative photo: Russia is ramping up production of Shaheds (defence-ua.com)
Russia is actively recruiting women from poor countries to work in its drone manufacturing plants. In particular, in South Africa, Russia used the BRICS structure for recruitment, according to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
According to intelligence reports, Russia is actively recruiting workers for drone production in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The center of this program is the Alabuga special economic zone in Tatarstan. Young women from poor countries are promised high salaries and career growth, but are not told that the work involves assembling strike drones, which are then launched against Ukraine.
In 2024, women from 44 countries, including Mozambique, Colombia, Mali, and Sri Lanka, participated in the Start program. The goal for 2025 is to attract participants from 77 countries.
The intelligence report specifies that Russia used BRICS structures to recruit women in South Africa. The BRICS Women's Business Alliance signed an agreement to find 5,600 employees for Alabuga. In January, the BRICS Student Commission posted job vacancies, and popular bloggers promoted the ads on Instagram and TikTok.
Against this backdrop, the South African Ministry of Women's Affairs urged young people to be cautious, and the authorities began investigating the activities of Russian companies.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) noted that in 2024, there were cases when African women were lured with promises of paid internships in the hotel business, but upon arrival, they were forced to assemble drones for less money and in inhumane conditions.
This year, Interpol launched an investigation in Botswana into the Alabuga Start case on suspicion of human trafficking. In Argentina, a lawsuit was also filed against two former TV show participants who appeared in the program's commercials.
This recruitment is happening because of a labor shortage in Russia due to mobilization, a demographic decline, and restrictions on labor migration from Central Asia. Alabuga is building housing for 41,000 people, which shows how big their plans are for drone production. Over 90% of participants in the Start program already work in this sector.
Russia recruits women for drone production
On August 22, Bloomberg reported that Russia is trying to address the labor shortage by recruiting women from Africa.
Research organizations have found that women are being deceived and sent to assemble Shahed-136 kamikaze drones.
