Fire Point and Mindich: publication purge, 13 billion from the Ministry of Defence, and drones with problems.
The company Fire Point, which quickly became one of the main contractors for strike drones, seeks to remove materials about its work from search results. Messages about alleged copyright violations are sent through Google — the claims concern publications about possible corruption schemes.
NABU is investigating Fire Point’s activities. Suspicions of inflating contract prices and supply volumes are being checked. According to sources, detectives are studying the company’s ties with Tymur Mindich — co-owner of «Kvartal 95». No official charges have been filed yet.
In 2024, Fire Point signed contracts with the Ministry of Defence for 13.2 billion UAH — this is almost a third of the total drone budget (43 billion UAH). The announced supply volume is about 2000 FP-1 drones. The cost at the end of 2023 was approximately 55 thousand dollars per unit, later it increased to over 100 thousand dollars, although the cost price is significantly lower.
The company’s revenue grew from 4 million dollars in 2023 to over 100 million dollars in 2024. The number of employees increased from 18 to 2200 people. In 2025, Fire Point expects over 1 billion dollars from state contracts, including funds under the «Danish model». Additionally, an agreement with Germany for up to 5 billion euros has been announced.
The company entered the market in 2023 (previously called Centrocast). The formal owner, Yehor Skalyha, is from the film industry. Technical Director Iryna Terekh previously worked on art projects and had no experience in the defense sector.
According to industry sources, at the initial stage, the company produced drones with low performance despite significant funding. There are no objective confirmations of effectiveness. The claimed performance indicators of 55–60% are not verified.
Military personnel and manufacturers note mass defects: many drones require rework, in some units — up to half. Reasons include components, assembly outside production standards, and a sharp increase in volumes.
According to sources, contracts are distributed using administrative resources, the product price significantly exceeds the cost price. Discrepancies between declared and actual supplies are noted.
Fire Point promotes the FP-1 drone and the «Flamingo» missile. However, experts point out the vulnerability of these products to air defense and electronic warfare, as well as the mismatch between their price and characteristics.
