Two African governments have signed new agreements with a Russian industrial complex linked to the production of attack drones used against Ukraine, even as a Ukrainian investigation alleges Moscow is expanding a recruitment network that draws young African women into its military-industrial workforce.
The agreements, signed in late October by Ghana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo with Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone, come months after Britain sanctioned individuals and entities associated with the Alabuga Start program over deceptive recruitment practices. The new partnerships raise questions about whether Russia’s efforts to attract foreign workers could help sustain drone production as its war against Ukraine continues.
The Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre says it has obtained internal documents identifying approximately 50 African women employed at Alabuga, alongside 10 Russian recruiters and two African intermediaries allegedly involved in attracting foreign workers.
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“What we were able to do is basically to obtain internal documentation,” Solomiya Khoma, the organization’s head of international cooperation, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
Khoma said the investigation went beyond previous reporting by attempting to establish how recruitment operates across borders, connecting Russian cultural organizations, local intermediaries and Alabuga’s human resources department. “Our case is specifically related to African countries,” she said.
According to the report, the alleged network operates on three levels: Russian cultural and educational organizations cultivating relationships with young people in Africa, local recruiters promoting opportunities abroad, and Alabuga personnel arranging employment and logistics.
The investigation identifies two women from Tunisia and Uganda as alleged recruitment coordinators and describes connections with Russian HR personnel and foreign employees. Their specific recruitment activities have not been independently verified by Fox News Digital.
Khoma said the findings relied partly on a confidential source who remains employed within the Alabuga industrial complex.
“This person is still continuing to work in the Alabuga economical zone and these factories,” she said, explaining why the organization could not disclose the source’s identity.
She said investigators obtained information about the workers and their identities, including internal employee passes.
The researchers also examined the involvement of Russian cultural organizations, including councils of Russian compatriots and the Russkiy Mir Foundation, in promoting educational and employment opportunities in African countries.
The report points to a September 2024 cooperation memorandum between the Russian compatriots’ council in Tunisia and Alabuga, alongside Russian cultural activities in Uganda. However, the investigation does not establish that Russian diplomats or cultural organizations knowingly directed recruits into military drone production.
The findings build on an Associated Press investigation published in October 2024, which documented how African women recruited with promises of education and civilian employment were assigned to manufacture Iranian-designed attack drones. Some described long hours, lower-than-promised wages, surveillance and exposure to hazardous chemicals.
Khoma described a recruitment process in which women arrive in Russia expecting to combine education with paid employment, only to fail entrance examinations or Russian-language requirements.
“These people are promised a dual education opportunity,” she said.
After failing examinations, she alleged, workers may find themselves with limited options and unable to afford transportation home, leaving them performing factory work instead of pursuing their expected studies.
The recruitment program has also attracted international scrutiny. On May 5, 2026, the British government sanctioned seven individuals and entities associated with Alabuga Start recruitment, accusing the operation of using deceptive practices to obtain foreign labor for facilities producing military drones.
Yet cooperation with African governments appears to be continuing.
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Ghanaian broadcaster Citi News reported October 29 that Labor Minister Emmanuel Agyekum signed an agreement with Alabuga to facilitate industrial employment opportunities for Ghanaian citizens. The ministry said it would coordinate recruitment, verify job offers and provide pre-departure orientation.
Meanwhile, CongoRassure reported October 30 that the Democratic Republic of the Congo signed a five-year memorandum focused on vocational training and strengthening employment institutions.
Neither agreement, as publicly described, establishes that either government intended to supply workers for military production.
Khoma called for sanctions targeting the recruitment networks themselves, including intermediaries, financial channels and organizations facilitating foreign labor recruitment.
She argued that Russia’s efforts to attract workers from abroad reflect growing labor shortages across its wartime economy and represent another potential point of international pressure.
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“Without this effort abroad, without this help abroad, it would be difficult for Russia to sustain a war longer,” she said.
Fox News Digital has reached out for comment to Alabuga, the Russian Foreign Ministry, and government representatives in Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Tunisia.
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