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Russia Made Drone Production a Supreme Priority. Now It Swarms the Skies.

Ukraine is struggling to defend itself against the growing number of attack drones that Moscow has started using in its onslaughts.

NYTimes

 

Update

How China helps Russia's Alabuga drone production

The Telegraph has found that Chinese companies directly supplied parts and materials worth at least £47m to Russian firms sanctioned for producing drones, from 2023 to 2024, a period when Moscow was building large-scale logistics infrastructure for its domestic drone programme.

Nearly a quarter of the value of those shipments – £10.7m – were sent to sanctioned Russian firms linked to the production of Iranian-designed Shahed kamikaze drones, operating in a special economic zone (SEZ) in the town of Alabuga, according to Telegraph analysis of global trade records compiled by Sayari, a risk and data intelligence company.

Goods directly exported by China to Russia included aircraft engines, microchips, metal alloys, camera lenses, fibreglass, emulsion binders for fibreglass, and carbon fibre yarns – all key components to produce the drones that wreak nightly havoc on Ukraine.

In all, The Telegraph identified 97 Chinese suppliers.  (The Telegraph)

 

Lured by promises of high pay, European travel, education, and the possibility of “finding love,” African girls are being brought to Tatarstan’s “Special Economic Zone” located about 1000 kilometers (625 miles) east of Moscow. Their passports are then taken away and they are made to handover their nominal $700 a month salaries to pay for company housing and other necessities. They are then put to work for long hours gluing together the composite suicide drones.

The Russian military company JSC Alabuga dealt with an acute labor shortage to build Shahed 136 drones (for the Ukraine war) by raising salaries and exploiting high school-age students and immigrant employees recruited under false pretenses.  JSC Alabuga has been using two programs to actively recruit young men and women, primarily aged 16-22, to make military drones: Alabuga Polytechnic is used to recruit students within Russia, and the Alabuga Start program is used to recruit workers from the Commonwealth of Independent States (also known as CIS countries) and other countries, primarily African countries. 

This deceptive and manipulative recruitment effort is intended primarily to enable JSC Alabuga to meet its ambitious Shahed 136 kamikaze drone production goals for the Russian military, a project that Russia steeps in secrecy, to the point of calling it motorboat manufacturing.  Potential recruits are not told that they could be involved in producing Shahed 136 drones

Alabuga Polytechnic’s students and Alabuga Start’s recruits have produced thousands of Shahed drones and dozens, perhaps hundreds of Albatross M5 drones for Russian combat operations against Ukraine,

Aware of the Russian legal problems of hiring workers under 18 years old, defined as children by the United Nations, JSC Alabuga lobbied Russian authorities to change labor laws to allow minors under 18 to work in riskier work environments, which includes Alabuga because of the use of toxic chemicals in making the airframe and the danger of explosions from fuel and high explosives.

The Wall Street Journal reported since its inception that over one thousand women from all over Africa went to Alabuga under Alabuga Start, and another thousand are likely to go this year, based on Ugandan officials aiding or knowledgeable about the recruitment effort. At least twenty-seven countries have sent participants through Alabuga Start to work at Alabuga, most are in Africa, but also seven are in Commonwealth of Independent State countries

Alabuga Start uses several tactics to attract foreign females to join its program. It offers a generous pay of 60,000₽ per month ($673 USD) and a certificate of professional training such as in “Quality Management of Products, Processes and Services” from the technological college Kazan National Research Technical University The participants are not formal students at the technical college and are only listed on the school’s roster to obtain a professional training certificate.

Alabuga Start notes that the salary it offers is at least double the average monthly salary in countries such as: Zimbabwe, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, and Rwanda. The program even goes as far to claim through videos and advertisements that Alabuga Start participants can “find love” and start families in Russia, and that the Alabuga Polytech offers a great way to do that.

As mentioned earlier, more than an estimated 90 percent of them work in drone production. In some leaked documents from 2023, they were called "mulattoes," a term referring to people of mixed race but apparently used here in a derogatory manner. The modules where they worked were labelled with an additional “M,” or “MM, for “mulatto module.”

Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS)
 

 

Bloomberg:

Russian companies are widening their campaign to find young African women to help fill a labor shortage, heightening concern many are being deployed in Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.

The latest drive is in South Africa, a fellow member of the BRICS block of large emerging market economies. One of the main recruiters, Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Tatarstan, produces military drones. South Africa’s government is now investigating what Russian companies are doing and what their intentions are, a person familiar with the situation said.

 
The push involves organizations using BRICS branding. The local chapter of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance signed an agreement in May to supply Alabuga and house builder Etalonstroi Ural with a combined 5,600 workers next year.

“Russia is sitting with a demand for workforce,” Lebogang Zulu, who chairs the women’s alliance and inked the deal on a trip to Russia earlier this year, told Bloomberg. “South Africa is sitting with a crisis of unemployment.”

Russia’s aging and shrinking population, coupled with the loss of hundreds of thousands of men to the front line in Ukraine and a spike in salaries, has left a hole in the labor market. At the same time, a third of the workforce in South Africa is unemployed. But while the economics might make sense, the recruitment push is drawing increasing scrutiny.

The Alabuga zone, for example, has been accused in three research reports from organizations including the Institute for Science and International Security, or ISIS, of tricking African women into working at the plant assembling Shahed 136 kamikaze drones. Women are viewed as more reliable than men for the specific kind of work, according to ISIS.

Officials in Pretoria may summon Russia’s diplomatic representatives to answer questions, the person familiar with the situation said. They asked not to be identified because a public statement hasn’t been made.

“The South African government is actively investigating reports of foreign programs that recruit South Africans under false pretenses,” the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in response to questions. “The South African government is yet to find any credible evidence that job offers in Russia are inconsistent with their stated purpose. However, the government has noted the alleged recruitment of youth by the Alabuga company.”

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En Indonésie, l’appel à l’aide d’un ex-soldat enrôlé dans l’armée russe enflamme le débat.  Dans une vidéo TikTok, un ancien membre de la marine indonésienne, qui aurait perdu sa citoyenneté en partant combattre avec l’armée russe en Ukraine, appelle à l’aide Jakarta pour pouvoir retourner dans son pays. Son appel suscite une vive polémique à bien des égards dans son pays. 

 “En raison de mon ignorance, j'ai signé un contrat avec le ministère russe de la Défense, ce qui a entraîné le retrait de ma citoyenneté. [...] Je vous prie de bien vouloir faire preuve de magnanimité pour m'aider à mettre fin à ce contrat et à me restituer mon droit à la citoyenneté pour que je puisse retourner en Indonésie” : ainsi s’exprime Satria Arta Kumbara, en uniforme militaire, face caméra, dans une //www.tiktok.com/@zstorm689/video/7529093424381807877">vidéo publiée sur TikTok le 20 juillet.

FRANCE24.

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The Coming Pax Geriatrica

Aging Societies and Depopulation Will Lead to Fewer Wars

Mark L. Haas--Foreign Affairs 

 

The article is presenting an interesting hypothesis which, however, is not quite as convincing as its author would like it to be.

In 1950, around five percent of the world’s population was 65 or older. By 2021, that number had nearly doubled. Even if fertility rates stop declining and remain where they were in 2022—an unlikely development—the United Nations forecasts that by 2050 that percentage will have more than tripled.

 ...the aging of a population slows economic growth and necessitates new and greater public spending on the welfare of elderly citizens. But it also has an important unrecognized international benefit: aging significantly reduces the likelihood of war between states.

Sounds good. But is it really convincing?

Demographically older states have thus already demonstrated a reduced tendency to engage in violent conflict. Statistical analyses show that these countries are significantly less likely to initiate military hostilities than are younger ones. What appears to be a universal trend toward war is in reality predominantly powered by the aggressiveness of demographically youthful states.

Looking at some current conflicts does not provide much proof of the peacefully aging thesis. The strongly aging and shrinking Russian population is waging a merciless war at Ukraine with its even faster disappearing population. Elsewhere, China is threatening to invade and subdue Taiwan although China's population is slowly shrinking whereas Taiwan's is still slowly growing. Thailand and Cambodia are fighting over some territory. Small Cambodia's population is growing whereas Thailands population is stagnating.

While current conflicts offer little proof of Haas' thesis, the historical past certainly does. When Hitler rose to power in 1933, Germany's birth rate of 14.7 exceeded the death rate of 11.2 by a considerable margin and was later used by claiming Volk ohne Raum (People without space, H. Grimm) to invade Eastern Europe in order to partially depopulate it and colonize it for Germany. The war and its aftermath altered Germany's demography; some parts became Raum ohne Volk (e.g. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern province)

Other observations made by Haas are also up for discussion, for instance:

Population aging hinders productivity growth by increasing the median age of the labor force. An old workforce is a less productive one. People tend to be most productive in their 40s, when they have more knowledge, experience, and resources than younger workers and more energy and better health than older workers.

Well,  current trends in demographically shrinking economies do not necessarily support this thesis. There are, for instance, different ways of looking at Japan -- the textbook case, as it were.

 

Does Europe need immigration? asked Deutsche Rundschau in 2015 and discussed the case of Japan "The Japan mystery" which said

...if we look at the decade from 2005 to 2014 and compare the long term top performer Australia with Japan, we get a different picture. Measured in purchasing power parity (PPP) US dollars, Australia's per capita GDP increased from 38.900 to 43.200, i.e. by 11.3 percent. Japan's per capita GDP rose from 30.200 to 37.400, or by 23.8 percent. 

The lesson to be drawn from this comparison is obvious: demographically shrinking societies may not display overall economic growth but are likely to achieve growing per capita income. In the above case, Japan achieved more than double the income growth of Australia, "the best of the class". However, let us take a look at the military situation, according to Haas:

Aging states with shrinking recruitment pools have consistently had trouble meeting their military personnel goals despite frequently relaxing standards and increasing compensation.

In 2050, East Asia will have nearly 48 million fewer 18- to 23-year-olds than in 2020, a 42 percent reduction; Latin America will have nearly nine million fewer, a 13 percent reduction; and Europe will have over eight million fewer, a 17 percent reduction. Put simply, aging countries will find it harder to marshal the manpower needed to fight protracted, bloody wars.

 Well, this argument infers a static view of health and medicine. With rising life expectancy, the old military age bracket ("18 - 23")  has become obsolete. Older, experienced troops (Ukraine, Israel) might well fend off large numbers of young recruits (Russia, Hamas)..

 ....aging populations tend to prefer peace

...tell Putin, tell Xi Jinping! 

The revolution in artificial intelligence, the recent successes of unmanned drone swarms, and the possibility of “killer robots” may make the large-scale substitution of technology for military labor increasingly attractive.

Military labor? In case of severe manpower shortage drone warfare might involve women and teenagers replacing adult men, i.e. lowering the age of military service.

Population aging will not completely eradicate war, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine demonstrates. 

 Aging, then, is likely to become a powerful force for peace that has never before existed.

Hopefully!

Heinrich von Loesch

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In einem Teil Deutschlands werden die Anhänger einer bundesweit aktiven, traditionellen Partei verfolgt. Einer Partei, die in vielen Bundes- und Landesregierungen beteiligt war und ist. Darf das sein?

Die Parteibasis schlägt Alarm

 Brief an die Grünen-Spitze: "Dies ist ein verzweifelter Hilfeschrei"

Aktualisiert am 26.07.2025, 15:23 Uhr

Angriffe auf Politikerinnen und Politiker machten in den vergangenen Wahlkämpfen immer wieder Schlagzeilen. Kommunalpolitiker aus Thüringen haben sich nun an ihre Parteiführung gewandt.

Grünen-Parteichef Felix Banaszak hat sich besorgt über Schilderungen von Hass und Hetze durch Thüringer Kommunalpolitiker gezeigt. Er nehme das sehr ernst, sagte Banaszak auf Anfrage.

Zuvor hatte der "Spiegel" berichtet, dass zwei Grünen-Kommunalpolitiker Banaszak und der Co-Parteivorsitzenden Franziska Brantner in einem Brief die schwierige Situation im ländlichen Thüringer Raum geschildert hätten. "Dieser Brief an euch ist ein verzweifelter Hilfeschrei, denn: Wir wissen nicht mehr weiter", zitierte das Magazin aus dem Schreiben von Matthias Kaiser und Felix Kalbe aus Gotha.

In dem Schreiben, das nach Angaben des "Spiegel" auf den 16. Juli datiert ist, berichten die beiden Politiker den Angaben nach darüber, dass sich immer mehr Mitglieder aus dem aktiven Parteileben zurückzögen. Es sei gefährlich geworden, Grünen-Mitglied im ländlichen Thüringen zu sein. In den Wahlkämpfen des vergangenen Jahres sei es normal gewesen, auf offener Straße als Grüner beleidigt oder angespuckt zu werden. "Fast wöchentlich wurden Hassbotschaften an unsere Bürofenster geklebt. Sprüche wie "Euch Grüne hängen wir auf" waren alltäglich", zitierte das Magazin aus dem Schreiben.

Ähnlicher Brief an Landesinnenminister

Kaiser, der für die Grünen im Kreistag Gotha sitzt, und Kalbe, Mitglied des Stadtrats von Gotha, hatten sich bereits in einem ähnlichen Brief an Landesinnenminister Georg Maier (SPD) gewandt. "Mit unseren Briefen wollten wir deutlich machen, wie ernst die Lage hier vor Ort in Gotha ist", teilte Kalbe der Deutschen Presse-Agentur mit. Sie stehe stellvertretend für zahlreiche ländliche Regionen, wie sie in Thüringen, Sachsen, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern und Sachsen-Anhalt existierten.

GMX
 
Sind die Grünen die neuen Juden? Sollten sie wie die jüdische Gemeinde besonderen Polizeischutz erhalten, und sollten Belästigungen und Schäden bei Grünen und grünen Institutionen von Polizei und Gerichten strafrechtlich verfolgt werden? Es ist inakzeptabel, dass mitteldeutsche Bundesländer einfach wegschauen, wenn eine Partei und ihre Anhänger geschädigt und verfolgt werden. Wenn solche Bundesländer keine wirksamen Maßnahmen ergreifen, sollten sie unter Bundesverwaltung gestellt und von Berlin aus regiert werden, bis die verfassungsmäßige Ordnung wiederhergestellt ist.
 
Heinrich von Loesch
 
 
 
 
Nebenbei: Wegen herkömmlicher Standesethik achtet der Autor als Journalist traditioneller Art darauf, politisch ungebunden zu sein. Kein grünlicher Schimmer! 

 

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European leaders promised a sharp increase in defense and defense-related spending at the NATO summit in June, raising members’ overall budget commitments from two percent to five percent of GDP.

To encourage Europe to follow through on its own promises, Washington must lay out a realistic, targeted, and phased plan that cuts U.S. troop levels in Europe roughly in half over the next four years while keeping in place forces vital to U.S. security interests or forces that Europe cannot reasonably replace in that time

The reality is that U.S. troop deployments in Europe are larger than necessary to defend core U.S. interests on the continent, so they will remain near the top of the list of cuts. This is not because Europe is unimportant to the United States but because many U.S. forces in Europe are unneeded given the current threat level and becoming redundant as Europe’s military might grows.

Christopher S. Chivvis -- Foreign Affairs

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