Ukraine’s deep-strike campaign against Russia has a new face — and it is not the military commander many might expect. Iryna Terekh, a 34-year-old architect turned defence executive, is emerging as one of the key figures behind the drones and missiles that have carried the war far beyond the front line and into Russian territory. With her ponytail, beige jacket and wide-legged jeans, Terekh cuts an unusual figure in a world dominated by military chiefs and arms industry executives. Yet the head of Fire Point has become a regular presence at major international defence exhibitions, holding talks with manufacturers and joining debates over Europe’s rapid rearmament. Speaking to AFP during a visit to London around this week’s Farnborough International Airshow, Terekh reflected on the extraordinary rise of her company. Just a month earlier, Fire Point had drawn attention at the Eurosatory defence exhibition in France by repeatedly showing footage of an oil refinery near Moscow burning after being struck by one of its drones. But despite the headlines, Fire Point chose not to exhibit in Britain. Terekh said the company’s next public appearance needed to make an even greater impact. The company’s rise has not been without controversy. Fire Point has faced allegations of corruption and claims that it received favourable treatment from the Ukrainian state, while questions have been raised over public contracts. Terekh firmly rejects the accusations. She argues that between 2022 and 2024 Ukrainian authorities urgently needed manufacturers capable of supplying weapons and says Fire Point welcomes audits, oversight and transparency. Her own journey is equally striking. Raised in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, Terekh grew up in Saltivka, a district now heavily damaged by Russian attacks. Although trained as an architect, she never worked in the profession, instead running construction businesses before joining Fire Point after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. According to Terekh, the first concepts for the FP-1 drone were drawn on a napkin in a favourite restaurant in late 2022. A prototype followed in a garage in early 2023, and seven aircraft were built in just three weeks. “We slept three hours a night and worked in shifts,” she recalled. Critics may dismiss the project as “garage engineering”, but Terekh says she is proud of those origins and argues that Ukrainian weapons must remain simple, practical and easy to reproduce. Western defence experts and industry figures have described Fire Point as a major contributor to Ukraine’s long-range attacks on Russia. Terekh says production now numbers thousands of drones every month, with output exceeding previously reported figures of 3,000 drones and 30 Flamingo missiles monthly. The controversy surrounding the company has had consequences. Some foreign projects were delayed while additional compliance checks took place, although Terekh says those reviews have now been completed. Looking ahead, her ambitions stretch beyond Ukraine. She wants to help create an international ballistic missile defence coalition, arguing that countries should not risk seeing air defence systems affected by political decisions. “We do not want to find ourselves in a situation where such a political decision could be taken for the skies above Paris,” she said. Iryna Terekh: The trained architect behind Ukraine's deep-strike drones
