Russian Plant Accused of Recruiting Young Women for Ukraine War Effort

Several social media outlets, including Google, Meta, and TikTok, have removed the accounts of a Russian drone manufacturer. An Advanced Press investigation accused the plant of recruiting young women to build drones for the Ukrainian war effort.

Posts from the drone factory were similarly removed on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

The facility is located in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, which falls under US and British jurisdiction. Its social media posts advertised the “Alabuga Start” program, promising foreign women a plane ticket to Russia and $500 per month of work. Many women took the job expecting to do hospitality work; however, after arriving, they quickly realized that they would be stuck making Iranian attack drones to be used against Ukraine.

These women are, for the most part, between 18-22 from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, and other African nations. They reported excessively long hours, unfair wages, and hazardous workplace conditions due to toxic chemical exposure.

After further research, the platforms also shut down accounts for Alabuga Polytechnic: a boarding school for 16-18-year-old Russians and 18-22-year-old Central Asians. Graduates from the program are claimed to be drone production experts. Its accounts had over 150,000 followers total and more than a million likes on just one of its TikTok sites.

Russian investigators claimed that some Alabuga Polytechnic students are as young as 15. Footage showed them performing “military-patriotic” paintball games and recreating Soviet battles in camouflage gear.

Despite main accounts being deleted, Alabuga still has public profiles on Telegram with thousands of followers.

The Alabuga Start propaganda garnered an expansive audience using energetic audios layered over footage of women cleaning, directing construction, and putting on protective clothing. The videos demonstrated several seemingly innocent activities; nothing related to tireless work in a drone factory.

FMI: https://startworld.alabuga.ru/