By Nana Karikari, Senior Global Affairs Correspondent
The Russian recruitment scheme, Alabuga Start—marketed as a work-study and career acceleration program—is a sophisticated global pipeline that exploits African youth, including those from Ghana. The program’s goal is to supply labour for military drone production. It is centered at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tatarstan, a republic located deep within the Russian Federation. The initiative presents a deceptive façade of international work-study, aiming only to meet Russia’s urgent war economy needs. This operation is extensive and growing, exploiting economic desperation across at least 27 countries on the African continent and beyond.
The program primarily targets young women aged 18 to 22 with glossy promises of well-paid jobs, professional training, and Russian society integration. Recruits are often promised careers in logistics, catering, or as crane operators. Investigative reports confirm, however, that more than 90 percent of Alabuga Start participants are funneled into factories assembling Shahed-136 kamikaze drones, weapons central to Russia’s aerial attacks on Ukraine.
This is fundamentally a labour-trafficking issue disguised as a career opportunity. Chinara, a young Nigerian participant who has since left, reported via social media that recruiters “turned us into hard laborers with low wages”. Workers face grueling shifts of up to 15 hours, low wages contingent on meeting tough production quotas, and exposure to caustic chemicals without proper safety equipment.
Former workers described being exposed to “highly dangerous and life-threatening chemicals,” which even Russians avoid. Testimonies from former workers describe the conditions as deeply coercive. Workers are treated “like donkeys,” with costs for airfare, accommodation, and language classes deducted from their salaries. Internal documents reportedly refer to the African women using the outdated and offensive racial term “mulattos”. Management has reportedly seized passports to prevent people from quitting, fulfilling several conditions for a case of human trafficking. Additionally, the program’s linked training facility, Alabuga Polytech, has reportedly hired girls as young as 16 for drone production.
Ghana’s Youth Caught in the Social Media Net
In Ghana, the Alabuga Start campaign is extensively executed through digital platforms. The strategy leverages local social media influencers on platforms like Instagram and TikTok to promote “dream jobs,” effectively bypassing official scrutiny.
“They prey on the ‘japa’ fever—the desperate desire to leave home for anything better,” said a development economist in Accra who studies youth unemployment, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the political sensitivity of the issue. “The salaries they offer, sometimes double what a young person might earn here, are a powerful magnet in a country where decent jobs are scarce.”
This approach targets the economically vulnerable directly. One recruit’s family in the Greater Accra region, speaking on condition of anonymity to a local journalist, described the excitement turning to panic: “They took her dreams and put her on a factory floor making weapons for a war she knows nothing about. She calls us sometimes, crying, saying it’s a trap.” This direct impact on families underscores the scheme’s human cost.
The desperation driving the migration is complicated by varying perspectives on the scheme among Ghanaian youth. Some see only the danger: Nii Aryee Comey (24), a university graduate in Accra, flatly rejected the idea, stating, “The thought of making suicide drones for a war that has nothing to do with us? That is a curse, not a job. I will stay and hustle here rather than risk my soul for blood money.”
Others prioritize financial survival: Nana Aba Dawson (21), a former sales clerk from Cape Coast, stated, “Look, unemployment is the real war here. If Russia is paying good money, and I get a visa to travel, why not? Every job has risks. My family needs the money, and that’s the only truth that matters.”
Meanwhile, Selom Baeta (20), a vocational student in the Volta region, remained cautiously neutral: “I am in the Telegram group queue. The communication is terrible and it feels dodgy, but they are offering what my government is not: a chance. I know the risk, but I’m willing to wait and see what happens for others before I decide.”
Widespread Exploitation Across Africa
The recruitment drive is systematic and widespread, targeting at least 27 African nations to secure a constant, low-cost labor supply for Russia’s military production shortfalls. Countries like Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan are key sources. The program has also heavily targeted Sierra Leone, Togo, the Central African Republic, and Gambia. The program has intensified its focus on South Africa and Botswana, even leveraging networks within the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance to advertise jobs. Official Russian data from 2024 shows over 111,000 African workers arrived in Russia, a 50% increase from 2022, highlighting Russia’s urgent labor shortages.
Clayson Monyela, head of public diplomacy at South Africa’s Department of International Relations, issued a stark warning: “We are extremely worried. Human trafficking syndicates are luring young people into all sorts of illegal activities under slave-like conditions.” South Africa has launched an investigation, with the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities also urging vigilance.
The struggle for families across the continent is palpable. The mother of a girl recruited from rural northern Zimbabwe stated her daughter “has not received the $1,500 (approximately GH₵17,160) she was promised” and has told them of forced labor.
In a stark contrast, the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development of Uganda, Esther Davinia Anyakun, visited the Alabuga SEZ and stated, “I saw how very, very happy they look. I had the opportunity to talk to each of them personally, and this left a very positive impression on me. When I return home, I will be fully confident that this is a good programme and that it gives us great hope.” This official endorsement highlights the deep divisions in African governmental responses.
A South Sudanese worker, Adau, who was lured with a promise of a tower-crane operator job, reported being forced into drone production. She described how chemicals burnt her skin and that her passport was seized.
Beyond Ghana, nations like Nigeria, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Mali are heavily targeted. Reports suggest Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Education initially shared promotional documents for the program. The Nigerian government has since denied official involvement and promised an investigation. A young man from Burundi, Silas, initially recruited to Alabuga, was later transferred to military training in Russia before being captured in Ukraine.
International Bodies and Tech Company Response
The deceptive nature of the scheme has triggered a global response. Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, confirmed that Russia’s actions could potentially fulfill the criteria of trafficking if the recruitment is fraudulent and the purpose is exploitation. Interpol has initiated a probe in Botswana into whether Alabuga Start is linked to human trafficking. Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania have also reportedly launched investigations into the program’s risks.
Tech giants, including Google (YouTube), Meta (Instagram and Facebook), and TikTok, have removed accounts and videos associated with the Alabuga SEZ recruitment campaign for violating policies against human exploitation and complying with sanctions laws, effectively disrupting the main digital pipeline.
Silence at the Highest Level
The Alabuga Start program did not respond to GTV’s request for comment.
Russia, however, staunchly denies all accusations of deception and forced labor. The Russian Embassy in Nairobi and other diplomatic missions have dismissed the allegations as “unfounded” and part of a widespread “disinformation campaign” orchestrated by Western powers to discredit Russia’s cooperation with African nations. Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued a direct public comment on the program.
On the African continent, while departments in South Africa and Botswana have launched probes, no official warning or statement has been issued by a top government official in Ghana. This lack of high-level intervention highlights the struggle facing citizens trapped in the scheme.
Official statements from the Alabuga SEZ promote the Alabuga Start program as an initiative for “young and talented people from all over the world to build a career and change their lives for the better.”
Global Expansion and the Crisis of Desperation
The Alabuga Start scheme has expanded globally, actively recruiting from Latin America (including Venezuela and Brazil) and South Asia (including Sri Lanka), aiming to recruit approximately 8,500 new workers in 2025. This massive scale-up is part of Russia’s push to meet its contractual goal of supplying the military with 6,000 Shahed drones by September 2025, with factory capacity suggesting a total combat drone output of up to 10,000 units by the end of the year. Satellite imagery confirms a vast expansion of the SEZ, including hundreds of new residential and production facilities with the capacity to house up to 41,000 people.
The ultimate tragedy is that Russia’s recruitment succeeds only because of the crippling lack of economic opportunity at home. The solution rests with African governments creating compelling, secure futures for their citizens.
