Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, whom US President Donald Trump once heralded as ”the greatest salesman on Earth,” promoted his bag-man's weapons company at the centre of new revelations of corruption, on multiple trips abroad, signing deals that have enriched his close associates even as they attempted to hide their de facto ownership of the company.
Reported transcripts of surveillance recordings of Zelensky’s longtime former business partner Timur Mindich – known as "Zelensky's wallet" in Kiev – reveal him to be the de facto owner of the Fire Point weapons company and in constant conversation with former defense minister and Zelensky insider Rustem Umerov to secure contracts with Kiev's backers and inflate its value.
Fire Point co-owner Denis Shtilerman has consistently denied the company’s ties to Mindich and dismissed the recordings as a slander campaign aimed at “damaging the reputation of one of Ukraine’s most effective weapons producers.”
Zelensky, though, with his ability to secure billions from foreign governments – the EU has just backed a €90 billion package for Kiev dressed as a "loan" – has promoted the company at home and abroad as a cutting-edge technology player central to the conflict with Russia, likely in full knowledge that he would eventually be lining his own pockets.
How often has Zelensky promoted Fire Point
Zelensky lauded Fire Point on most of his 130-plus trips since 2022, first as an opportunity for partnerships with European firms and later as a cost-effective solution against Iranian drones in the Middle East.
In recent weeks Zelensky has touted what he grandly announced as a “European joint security system” to smiles and applause at meetings across Germany, France and Norway, promoting Fire Point's largely untested missiles as a "new patriot" – a reference to the in-demand and highly expensive US batteries.
But his weapons grade con-trick goes back further and deeper than that.
The ‘most successful weapon’
Just days after the Associated Press published the first photo of the Flamingo in August 2025, Zelensky described it as “by far the most successful missile in Ukraine’s arsenal.”
There are no recorded cases of the weapon having been used in combat by then. He added that it would be mass-produced by February.
Then-Defense Minister Denis Shmygal hailed the Flamingo as “a very powerful” weapon capable of striking deep inside Russia.
Crowdfunded in EU, cashed in Ukraine
In October 2025, Zelensky presented Fire Point as one of Ukraine’s top drone makers at the International Defense Industries Forum in Kiev, which was attended by Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof.
“By the end of the year, no less than 50% of the weapons at the front must be Ukrainian-made, and this task must be accomplished,” Zelensky said.
A month later a Czech crowdfunding campaign donated approximately $760,000 to the company, which was by then courting hundreds of millions in investment from the UAE-based weapons group EDGE. In April the Ukrainian anti-monopoly Committee blocked the deal.
Transcripts suggest Umerov and Mindich believed that each Fire Point shareholder would cash out some $300 million on the back of the EDGE deal and other European contracts, which would value the company at some $2.7 billion.
The crowdfunded cash is not mentioned but the transcript lists Mindich saying 50% of the money received from public defense contracts should be taken as cash out.
Rocket fuel and special terms in Denmark
In 2025, Denmark announced plans to host a Fire Point rocket fuel production plant in Vojens, southern Jutland, near the Skrydstrup Air Base.
Copenhagen rushed through special legislation forbidding any local, social or environmental opposition to the proposed plant, judging it to be in the national interest.
In September 2024 and June 2025, Umerov as Ukrainian Minister of Defense, met with his Danish counterpart to finalise protocols, knowing Fire Point was beneficially owned by Zelensky's close confidant Mindich and not by the former movie location scout Egor Skalyga, listed as Fire Point's CEO and minority shareholder.
Zelensky personally met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen multiple times in early 2025 to finalize the “co-production” strategy and former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was brought onto the board of the Danish company.
Zelensky closes deals for his "wallet"
During Zelensky’s visit to Madrid in March 2026, Fire Point signed a cooperation agreement with Spanish defense giant Sener, which produces components for the IRIS-T missile used by Ukraine.
“We are deeply grateful to President Zelensky for showing interest in our capabilities and for recognizing the value of Sener’s contribution to Ukraine’s air defense,” Sener President Andres Sendagorta said at the time.
Fire Point signed a similar deal with German defense company Diehl during Zelensky’s trip to Berlin in March. Diehl manufactures several anti-air missile systems, including IRIS-T.
The transcripts reveal that Umerov told Mindich of incoming contracts worth several billion dollars.
Shtilerman, the company face that has denied the businessman known as "Zelensky's wallet" owned Fire Point, suggested that Ukraine could serve as a testing ground for European missile defense systems and proposed a project called Freya, which would integrate Fire Point’s technology into a joint European ballistic missile defense framework.
Oil money from the Gulf
The US-Israeli war with Iran provided Ukraine with an opportunity to market interceptor drones to Gulf states hosting American bases as a cheaper alternative to air defense systems such as the US-made Patriot.
In March Zelensky proposed using Ukraine's "fire points" to unblock the Strait of Hormuz.
On April 23, Zelensky announced that Ukraine had signed a drone deal with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.
“We want to help them defend themselves and will continue to foster partnerships with other countries,” Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine could share its defense technology with the US.
When did Zelensky welcome the first use of Fire Point?
In February, the Ukrainian military began reporting the use of the Flamingo in combat, which Zelensky later highlighted at international events.
Speaking at a press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Kiev, he claimed the missile had struck a weapons factory in Russia’s Udmurtia region.
“I believe this is a real achievement for your industry,” Zelensky said, adding that the strike demonstrated “the high quality and accuracy” of the weapon.
Zelensky also discussed the missile at the Munich Security Conference the same month, where he met with European officials, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines, he acknowledged that Russia had destroyed “a large production line” but said Flamingo production would continue.
What is the bottom line?
Zelensky and his backers have played a convenient role for Western war hawks and hoodwinked them at the same time. The West's pro-war cabal have been willing to accept massive graft as an inevitable consequence of pouring billions into the most corrupt country in Europe to fuel a proxy war that will cost Ukraine lost generations.
Sitting on top of the rubble, will be Zelensky, his cabal, with begging bowls in one hand, a movie script and a sales pitch in the other.