Alabuga Start

Rule Changes

Operating; primary target of the UK trafficking sanctions

Russia recruits women from Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America with promises of catering and hospitality work, then puts most of them on a Shahed drone assembly line in Tatarstan. On May 5, 2026, the United Kingdom first applied human-trafficking sanctions to the pipeline, designating 35 people and entities tied to Alabuga Start programme and firms in Russia, China, and Thailand supplying drone components.

Updated May 31