Interpol investigates Russian company for human trafficking over African workers in Tatarstan drone factory
Interpol in Botswana began investigating Alabuga Start, billed in Africa as a work-study program in Russia for "ambitious young women" but linked to the production of military drones, for possible involvement with human trafficking, Bloomberg reported on April 25.
Since launching in 2022, Alabuga Start has recruited around 350 women from over 40 countries to work in Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan and aims to bring 8,500 more this year, according to the article.
The head of Interpol's bureau in Gaborone, Detective Senior Superintendent Selebatso Mokgosi, said the investigation began after the company's social media posts were brought to the organization's attention.
Alabuga Special Economic Zone is an industrial complex dedicated to mechanical engineering and the production of Shahed kamikaze drones, as well as their Russian Geran copies, which Russia routinely uses in its attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure.
Facing a labor shortage, Russia is trying to stuff its factories with outreach efforts in some of Africa's poorest nations, denying that the workers are going to work in military production.
Alabuga Start is looking for women between the ages of 18 and 22 in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Lesotho, but also in Botswana, one of Africa's richest countries per capita that struggles with unemployment, Bloomberg writes.
The 2024 report by the non-profit Institute for Science and International Security estimated that "more than 90% of the Start program personnel" were assigned to drone assembly, aiming to produce 6,000 drones every year.
Last October, the Associated Press reported that African women were being forced to build drones in Alabuga under gruelling and hazardous conditions, and were paid much less than promised.
The in-depth investigations into Alabuga by Protokol, a Russian independent media outlet, showed that it has a track record of surveiling workers involved in drone manufacturing and keeping details about production in secret.
Last year, Ukraine confirmed attacking military facilities in Tatarstan at least twice with long-distance drone strikes. Most recently, Ukrainian drones reportedly struck the plant on April 23.
Before Alabuga Start ramped up recruitment abroad, the drones were assembled by students at the nearby vocational school, Alabuga Polytechnic. The students faced expulsion and the threat of fines ranging from 1.5 million to 2 million rubles ($18,000-$24,000) if they were found to have shared any information about their work, according to Bloomberg.
Read also: Investigation: Who helped Russians increase production of domestic attack drones despite sanctions
We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Russia pummels Kharkiv with drones and bombs, Ukraine says
On Saturday afternoon, Russia dropped two more glide bombs on the city, killing at least one more resident and injuring at least 16 others, Terekhov said. Advertisement Photographs released by Ukraine's emergency services showed the upper floors of a residential block ablaze after the overnight strike, with white smoke pouring into the early morning sky. In other images, rescuers sifted through the charred wreckage of a gutted apartment. Parts of the photos were blurred, likely to hide the remains of two people killed in that strike, according to the rescuers. A third person died elsewhere in Kharkiv, and about 20 others were injured in the assault. Advertisement The local prosecutor's office said Saturday afternoon that six people were most likely still trapped under the rubble of an industrial facility in Kharkiv that was struck during the overnight attack. The attacks Saturday came as Russian forces about 100 miles north of Kharkiv pushed deeper into Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, seizing two more villages and advancing their effort to carve out a buffer zone along the Russia-Ukraine border. Even in Kharkiv, a city of 1.3 million that over the years has learned to live with near-daily Russian bombardments, Saturday's attacks were a clear sign of Russia's strategy to intensify air assaults in a bid to overwhelm and break through Ukraine's air defenses. They came just a day after Russia launched one of its biggest air assaults of the war across Ukraine, involving more than 400 drones and more than 40 missiles, in what Russia described as retaliation for Ukraine's audacious attacks on its strategic bomber bases last weekend. President Donald Trump this past week compared the dual air assaults between Russia and Ukraine to 'two young children fighting like crazy.' 'They hate each other, and they're fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart,' Trump said Thursday in an Oval Office news conference. 'They don't want to be pulled. Sometimes you're better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart.' In an interview with ABC News released Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the comment. 'We are not kids with Putin at the playground in the park,' he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'He is a murderer who came to this park to kill the kids.' In April, a Russian missile struck a playground in Zelenskyy's hometown, Kryvyi Rih, killing 19 civilians, including nine children. It was the deadliest strike against children since the beginning of the war, according to the United Nations. Advertisement Russia's intensified attacks have come alongside a new offensive in the east and in the northeastern Sumy region. The push into Sumy follows Russian forces driving Ukrainian troops back from parts of Russia's Kursk region, just across the border from Sumy. To prevent future incursions into Kursk, Putin announced last month that Russian forces would launch an offensive in Sumy to create a buffer zone along the border. In the past three weeks, Russian troops have seized about 10 villages in the area, gaining control of roughly 75 square miles of territory. 'It's clear this is already an offensive on Sumy region -- a full-scale offensive,' said Andrii, a 44-year-old company intelligence commander fighting there who declined to be identified with his full name for security reasons and due to military protocol. He said he saw the offensive not only as an effort to establish the buffer zone that Putin called for, but also as a strategy to pin down Ukrainian forces and prevent their redeployment to other front-line hot spots in the east. Andrii said Russian troops were currently pushing toward the village of Khotin, 6 miles from the border. If they seize it, he warned, the situation could turn critical. Khotin sits on high ground and lies less than 12 miles from the city of Sumy, the regional administrative center, close enough for Russian forces to strike it with drones and artillery. Sumy is home to about 250,000 people. More than 200 villages and settlements have been evacuated from the Sumy region over the past year because of the fighting. Advertisement This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Zelenskyy: Over 40 injured in Kharkiv, these are not "retaliatory" strikes
One woman was killed and more than 40 were injured in a Russian attack on Kharkiv with guided aerial bombs on Saturday 7 June. Source: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Telegram and in the evening address Quote: "As of now, more than 40 people were reportedly injured and one killed in Kharkiv as a result of a Russian guided aerial bomb attack. Another brutal murder. Aerial bombs on civilians in the city – even near a children's railway. This makes no strategic sense. It is pure terrorism. And it has been going on for more than three years of full-scale war. This cannot be ignored. We cannot turn a blind eye to it. And this is not a game. Every day we lose our people only because Russia feels it has impunity. We need to force Russia to make peace." Updated: In his evening address, Zelenskyy said that "no matter what anyone says, these are not 'retaliatory' Russian strikes, but strikes aimed at destruction, the complete destruction of life." Zelenskyy stressed that no form of pressure on Russia should be weakened – neither the measures that have already been applied nor the methods of pressure that are being prepared. "We are working to increase Ukrainian air defence. We need positive signals from the US, specific signals on air defence. We are still waiting for a response to the offer to buy systems that can help," he said. Background: At around 17:35, Russia attacked the Shevchenkivskyi and Kyivskyi districts of Kharkiv with four guided aerial bombs. A 30-year-old employee of Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) was killed and at least 18 other people were injured. Four of the victims are employees of Ukrzaliznytsia. The attack damaged two buildings of a children's railway and four railway carriages, as well as houses and an outbuilding. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Operation Spider's Web: Germany estimates that Ukraine damaged 10% of Russian strategic aircraft
Ukraine's drone attack on Russian airfields on 1 June probably damaged about 10% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet, German Major General Christian Freuding has said. Source: Freuding in a podcast, as reported by European Pravda, citing Reuters Quote: "According to our assessment, more than a dozen aircraft were damaged, TU-95 and TU-22 strategic bombers as well as A-50 surveillance planes." Details: According to the general, who coordinates Berlin's military assistance to Kyiv and works closely with the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, the A-50s, which have a similar function to NATO's AWACS aircraft in providing air surveillance, were probably not in working order. "We believe that they can no longer be used for spare parts. This is a loss, as only a handful of these aircraft exist," he said. "As for the long-range bomber fleet, 10% of it has been damaged in the attack according to our assessment," Freuding added. The United States estimates that the daring Ukrainian drone attack hit up to 20 Russian warplanes, destroying about 10 of them, two US officials told Reuters. Experts say it will take Moscow years to replace the affected aircraft. Despite the losses, Freuding sees no immediate reduction in Russian strikes on Ukraine, noting that Moscow still retains 90% of its strategic bombers, which can launch ballistic and cruise missiles in addition to dropping bombs. "But there is, of course, an indirect effect as the remaining planes will need to fly more sorties, meaning they will be worn out faster, and, most importantly, there is a huge psychological impact," he said. Freuding said that Russia felt secure in its vast territory, which also explains why the aircraft were not well protected. "After this successful operation, this no longer holds true. Russia will need to ramp up the security measures," the general said. Background: On 1 June 2025, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) carried out a special operation codenamed Pavutyna ("Spider's Web"), hitting Russian strategic jets at four airfields. SSU head Vasyl Maliuk stated that 34% of strategic cruise missile carriers at Russia's main airfields had been destroyed. The SSU said the estimated cost of the equipment destroyed as a result of Operation Spider's Web is over US$7 billion. A senior NATO official called the operation the most successful one yet. The Alliance estimated that at least 40 aircraft were damaged. Between 10 and 13 aircraft were completely destroyed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has emphasised that the security services used exclusively Ukrainian weapons in this operation and did not use equipment from allied warehouses. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
