The UK has imposed sanctions on 35 individuals and entities tied to Russia’s drone production networks and alleged human trafficking operations, targeting efforts to sustain the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, according to a government statement issued on May 5.

The measures focus on networks accused of recruiting foreign migrants, many of them Africans, under false job promises before deploying them to the battlefield or assigning them roles in weapons manufacturing.

Among those sanctioned is Pavel Nikitin, whose company develops Russia’s VT‑40 drone – a cheap, mass‑produced attack drone which has been used extensively by Russia in its attacks on Ukraine, the statement said. 

Also sanctioned are three people with links to the Russian state involved in recruiting individuals to travel to Ukraine to fight for Moscow, including Polina Alexandrovna Azarnykh, “who, backed by the Russian state, has been facilitating the travel of individuals from countries including Egypt, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Morocco, Syria and Yemen through Russia to Ukraine, where they are deployed with minimal training and under dire conditions to the frontline to sustain Russia’s illegal war of aggression.”   

Sanctions Minister Stephen Doughty said the actions were aimed at dismantling systems exploiting vulnerable people to support Russia’s military operations.

“Today’s sanctions expose and disrupt the operations of those trafficking migrants as cannon fodder and feeding Putin’s drone factories with illicit components,” he said in a statement.

Rising unemployment, aggressive recruitment messaging on social media, and the appeal of rapid financial gain have led African men to accept bogus offers of non-military work in Russia, only to be sent to the front lines in Ukraine. Such cases have been documented in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and South Africa.

An Associated Press investigation in October 2024 found that women from African countries were recruited with promises of work-study programmes, hospitality, training, or other civil roles. Instead, many ended up in a factory in Russia assembling military drones for use in the Ukraine conflict. 

The UK noted that Russia intensified drone strikes in early 2026, launching more than 200 drones per day into Ukraine in March, the highest monthly rate recorded, with April figures expected to surpass that level. The statement called out entities in third countries, including Thailand and China, over the alleged supply of drone components and military goods to Russia.

As IntelliNews reported, Kenya’s National Intelligence Service said in a February 19 submission to parliament that around 1,000 Kenyan nationals had been recruited to fight for Russia, underscoring the scale of foreign recruitment linked to the war.