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Two African governments have signed new deals with a Russian industrial complex linked to the production of attack drones used against Ukraine, even as a Ukrainian investigation claims Moscow is expanding its 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 Congo with Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone, come months after Britain sanctioned individuals and entities associated with the Alabuga Start program for deceptive recruitment practices. These new partnerships raise questions about whether Russia’s efforts to attract foreign workers could help maintain drone production as the war against Ukraine continues.
The Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation says it has obtained internal documents identifying around 50 African women employed in Alabuga, alongside 10 Russian recruiters and two African middlemen allegedly involved in attracting foreign workers.
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The remains of a Russian-made, Iranian-designed Shahed-136 drone, known in Russia as the Geran-2, are on display along with other recovered drones, glide bombs, missiles and rockets in Kharkiv on July 30, 2025. (Scott Peterson/Getty Images)
“What we were able to do was basically get 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 reports by attempting to establish how recruitment takes place across borders, linking Russian cultural organizations, local intermediaries and the Alabuga human resources department. “Our case specifically concerns African countries,” she said.
According to the report, the alleged network operates on three levels: Russian cultural and educational organizations cultivating relationships with youth in Africa, local recruiters promoting overseas opportunities, and Alabuga staff handling employment and logistics.
A satellite image shows the possible planned location of a drone manufacturing factory in Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone, as evidence of new Russian-Iranian cooperation, in this document acquired June 9, 2023. (White House/handout via Reuters)
The investigation identifies two Tunisian and Ugandan women as alleged recruitment coordinators and describes ties to Russian human resources personnel and foreign employees. Their specific recruiting activities have not been independently verified by Fox News Digital.
Khoma said the findings were based in part on a confidential source who remains employed within the Alabuga industrial complex.
“This person continues to work in the Alabuga Economic Zone and these factories,” she said, explaining why the organization could not disclose the identity of the source.
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 the Councils of Russian Compatriots and the Russkiy Mir Foundation, in promoting education and employment opportunities in African countries.
The report notes a September 2024 memorandum of cooperation between the council of Russian compatriots in Tunisia and Alabuga, alongside Russian cultural activities in Uganda. However, the investigation does not establish that Russian diplomats or cultural organizations knowingly directed their recruits towards the production of military drones.
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 tasked with manufacturing Iranian-designed attack drones. Some described long hours, lower wages than promised, surveillance and exposure to dangerous chemicals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi arrive for their meeting on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, October 30, 2026. (Pavel Bedniakov/Pool via Reuters)
Khoma described a recruitment process in which women arrive in Russia hoping to combine education and paid employment, but fail entrance exams or Russian language requirements.
“These people are promised a double training opportunity,” she said.
After failing the exams, she said, workers may find themselves with limited options and unable to afford transportation home, leaving them to work in factories instead of pursuing expected education.
The recruitment program has also attracted international attention. On May 5, 2026, the British government sanctioned seven individuals and entities associated with the recruitment of Alabuga Start, accusing the operation of using deceptive practices to obtain foreign labor for military drone production facilities.
Yet cooperation with African governments appears to continue.
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Ghanaian television station Citi News reported on October 29 that Minister of Labor 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 on October 30 that the Democratic Republic of Congo had signed a five-year memorandum focused on vocational training and strengthening institutions for employment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama enter a room before the start of their talks on the sidelines of the third Russia-Africa summit in Moscow, Russia, October 30, 2026. (Anastasia Barachkova/Pool/Reuters)
Neither agreement, as publicly described, established that either government intended to provide workers for military production.
Khoma called for sanctions targeting the recruitment networks themselves, including intermediaries, financial channels and organizations facilitating the recruitment of foreign labor.
She argued that Russia’s efforts to attract foreign workers reflect a growing labor shortage in its wartime economy and represent another potential point of international pressure.
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“Without this foreign effort, without this foreign aid, it would be difficult for Russia to sustain a war any longer,” she said.
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Nationals of African countries watch television in a dedicated section where foreign fighters captured while serving for Russian forces on the Ukrainian front are being held at a detention center for Russian prisoners of war in western Ukraine November 26, 2025, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, there have been widespread reports of African nationals fighting alongside Moscow’s forces, with some accusing the Russian military of using deceptive tactics to recruit them. In November, kyiv said it had identified 1,426 fighters from 36 African countries serving in the Russian military. (Photo by Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital sought comment from Alabuga, the Russian Foreign Ministry and representatives of the governments of Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Tunisia.
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