The Associated Press (AP) has revealed that young African women are being fraudulently recruited to work in Russia's "Shahed" factory in Tatarstan, where attack drones are manufactured. According to the investigation, around 200 women from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka were lured to Russia through deceptive social media ads offering free flights and jobs in the hospitality and catering sectors.

Upon arriving in Russia, these women, aged 18 to 22, were coerced into working 12-hour shifts assembling "Shahed" drones, which are used in daily attacks on Ukrainian cities. The women worked alongside Russian students in the Alabuga special economic zone. According to accounts, they were under constant surveillance both at work and in their dormitories. Promises of wages were not fulfilled, and they had to work with chemicals that caused skin problems.

The AP's investigation included analysis of satellite images of the factory complex, internal documents, and interviews with several women who worked there. The factory in Tatarstan is Russia’s main production hub for attack drones, aiming to produce 6,000 drones annually by 2025, according to data from the Washington Institute for Science and International Security.