Inside Russia’s Alabuga Start Scheme: How Young African Women Were Trapped in Drone Factories

An exclusive investigation exposes how Russia’s Alabuga Start program lured young African women with promises of scholarships, vocational training and high-paying careers. Recruits signed non-disclosure agreements, had their passports withheld and found themselves working in drone assembly lines rather than at universities or in logistics. Survivors describe staged classrooms, fake uniforms for visiting ministers and influencers, and months without pay while living near a war production facility under regular drone attack. They recall being funneled into a single factory regardless of the jobs they were promised. The operation was built by Russian state agencies and local partners across Africa, including Nigerian recruitment firms and compromised government websites. United Nations experts warn the scheme may amount to human trafficking, and regulators are urged to act immediately.

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