The Institute of Science and International Security shared screenshots from the Zvezda documentary which showed young African women building drones at Alabuga SEZ. This contradicts the recruitment and promotional materials for Alabuga Start which fail to mention that participants will be employed at the drone factory and instead highlight opportunities for jobs in the hospitality industry or construction.
Release of the documentary by Zvezda demonstrated how the Russian government had actively chosen to publicize drone manufacturing at Alabuga SEZ which it had previously avoided, Said European investigative journalists on their revealing website Alabuga truth
On July 22nd, The Guardian reported findings from an investigation by the Insider, an exiled Russian news outlet, which detailed systematic efforts by the Russian government to involve children in the design and testing of drones for the war effort in Ukraine. These efforts include a video-game based competition designed to headhunt teenagers to work in Russia's defence companies. The article quoted several teenagers, interviewed by The Insider, who had been involved in one of the competitions and described how they were encouraged to hide the competitions associations to the war effort
On July 25th, CNN published further detail regarding the Zvezda documentary on Alabuga SEZ, including how Russian children during summer camps organized by "Russian Student Brigades" are used at Alabuga SEZ. The article detailed Zvezda's interview with the general director of the factory, Timur Shagivaleyev boasting about the self-sufficiency and expansion that the process of producing drones at Alabuga SEZ had expanded. The article quoted several experts who provided further detail on the expansion and suggested that expanding Alabuga SEZ could be part of Russian plans to export drones. Shagivaleyev had previously in 2024 been sanctioned by the US treasury department for his involvement in the exploitation of underage students to manufacture drones.
On July 28th, the Institute of Science and International Security (ISIS) published a report outlining major developments at Alabuga SEZ which indicated significant expansion in Russian military drone production. The report analyzed satellite imagery of the site and detailed drone production plans, new residential buildings, summer camps for children and the appearance of a tent city linked to the camps.