Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has joined the advisory board of Ukraine’s defence company Fire Point amid Kyiv’s large-scale anti-corruption investigation, also involving the missile and drone producer known for its Flamingo long-range cruise projectile.
Fire Point is a private defence contractor that emerged in 2023 and has recently come under scrutiny amid the anti-corruption investigation and possible links to wealthy entrepreneur Timur Mindich.
A former business partner of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mindich allegedly served as the ringleader and mastermind of a $100-million corruption scheme involving Ukraine’s state-owned Energoatom.
Is Fire Point under investigation?
Fire Point has come up in the ongoing investigation by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), which has rocked the country over the past days.
Ihor Fursenko, one of the key members of the group, who was allegedly laundering money from the scheme and a former Energoatom executive director for physical protection, was previously employed at the company.
In the NABU tapes, released over the course of last week, Fursenko is heard speaking with Oleksandr Tsukerman, a Ukrainian businessman charged in the case, whom Zelenskyy subsequently sanctioned.
The two are discussing the fact that Fursenko had recently obtained a formal position at Fire Point.
The Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) prosecutor said that, according to their information, Fursenko had been employed as an administrator at Fire Point since 19 March.
“We also note the existence of (Fursenko’s) international passport and that in the period from January 2018 through 22 August 2025, he travelled abroad 26 times, including during martial law.”
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 are banned from leaving the country with few exceptions. The Ukrainian Defence Ministry allocates special privileges to preferred defence contractors during wartime, including exemptions for a certain number of male employees from both mobilisation and travel restrictions.
In August, Ukrainian outlet The Kyiv Independent also reported that Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency had been investigating Fire Point over concerns it could have misled the government on pricing and deliveries. NABU was also reportedly looking into whether Mindich was the alleged ultimate beneficiary of the company.
Fursenko was detained last week and remains in custody until 8 January 2026 by the High Anti-Corruption Court.
Fire Point denies all the accusations.
Fire Point commissions independent audit
Fire Point has commissioned a major international firm to conduct an independent audit of its pricing and production to quell concerns, said Iryna Terekh, Fire Point’s chief technology officer.
“In general it’s good they are working on this,” Terekh said, commenting on the ongoing investigation in Ukraine.
“We completely support, as a company, the fact that this investigation is happening,” she added.
In the meantime, Fire Point has stated its plans to expand its operations to produce battle-tested cruise missiles, aiming to more than double its current capacity.
The company is also constructing a factory in Denmark to manufacture essential rocket propellant.
Last Wednesday, Fire Point launched an advisory board, naming former US Secretary of State Pompeo as one of the members. Three other individuals were also appointed to the board.
Pompeo served as the CIA director from 2017 to 2018 and as Washington’s foreign policy chief from 2018 to 2021, during US President Donald Trump’s first term.
Pompeo has often advocated for more substantial support for Ukraine amid Russia’s full-scale invasion, which started in early 2022.
US Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg also visited one of Fire Point’s factories during his last visit, the company executives said, in a trip that included talks with other Ukrainian defence technology companies as well.
Additional sources • AP