There are indications that the Alabuga Start World, an emigration programme designed to assist young, talented people from all over the world to relocate to Russia for further studies and job opportunities, may have been turned into a human trafficking scheme targeting young women from Nigeria and other African countries.

The programme, which recruits young women aged 18 to 22 years old, is presented as an initiative for participants to build a career and change their lives for the better.

The salary for students at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone is nearly $1,000 a month – almost double the average wage in Russia. However, New Telegraph learnt that some young Nigerian women and their peers from other African countries currently participating in the programme have found themselves trapped in difficult situations.

They are allegedly engaged in the manufacturing and assemblage of weapons of war under life threatening circumstances. A source privy to the arrangement said the young women may have been deceived into working in a drone factory where they are exposed to harmful substances and chemicals.

There are also reports that these migrant workers have been exposed to even more danger as Ukraine recently launched its own drones attack on the factory and surrounding living quarters in an effort to disrupt production.

The Russian government, our source said, may have invested huge resources into this programme because of the manpower shortage plaguing the country since the escalation of its war with Ukraine two years ago.

But an official of the Russian Embassy in Abuja has dismissed the allegations as untrue and mere speculation. The official, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to comment on the matter, said such negative reports about the Alabuga Start Programme must have been borne out of ignorance.

“Of course, that is not true. We have absolutely no idea where such information originated from. “It is completely unfamiliar to us. Where did it even come from? Clearly, it is pure speculation — and most likely paid for by someone — that has nothing to do with the truth.

“Moreover, it’s obvious that the author of that article has no real understanding of what they are talking about,” the official said. Recentlyboth nations have stepped up their use of drones to attack each other as they are relatively cheaper than using missles or fighter jets.