{"id":20610,"date":"2026-07-24T14:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/20610\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T14:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T14:49:09","slug":"iryna-terekh-the-trained-architect-behind-ukraines-deep-strike-drones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/20610\/","title":{"rendered":"Iryna Terekh: the trained architect behind Ukraine’s deep-strike drones"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Iryna Terekh heads Fire Point, a company that has become one of the driving forces behind Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities in the war with Russia (HENRY NICHOLLS) <\/p>\n

She tours major international defence shows, negotiates with arms manufacturers and takes part in discussions on Europe’s rearmament. <\/p>\n

At 34, Iryna Terekh, an architect by training, heads Fire Point, a company that has become one of the driving forces behind Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities in the war with Russia. <\/p>\n

With her long hair tied back in a ponytail, a white top, beige jacket and wide-legged jeans, she stands out in an industry dominated by men in suits. <\/p>\n

She met with AFP away from the exhibition halls at this week’s Farnborough\u00a0International\u00a0Airshow in the UK, for an interview in Mayfair, central London. <\/p>\n

A month after attracting attention at the Eurosatory defence exhibition in France — where Fire Point repeatedly screened footage of an oil refinery near Moscow engulfed in flames after being hit by one of its drones — the company opted not to exhibit in Britain. <\/p>\n

“The next step has to be even better,” Terekh said, explaining she wants Fire Point’s next public appearance to make a big impact. <\/p>\n

For months, she has been defending Fire Point against allegations of corruption and accusations that have accompanied the company’s meteoric rise. <\/p>\n

The firm has faced claims that it received preferential treatment from the state and has been drawn into controversy over public contracts. <\/p>\n

Terekh says that from 2022 to 2024 Ukrainian authorities were desperately searching for manufacturers capable of supplying weapons, and insists the company welcomes audits, oversight and transparency. <\/p>\n

– ‘Garage engineering’ – <\/p>\n

Terekh grew up in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, and from her children’s home in Saltivka — a district now among the areas hardest hit by Russian bombardment — she could see Belgorod in Russia. <\/p>\n

She has long lived in Kyiv and says she has children, but declines to provide further details “for security reasons”. <\/p>\n

Although trained as an architect she never practised, instead running several construction companies. <\/p>\n

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, her friend Denys Shtilerman, Fire Point’s founder, suggested she help build his company. <\/p>\n

According to Terekh, the first ideas for what would become the FP-1 drone were sketched on a napkin in their favourite restaurant in late 2022. <\/p>\n

A prototype was assembled in a garage in early 2023, with seven aircraft then built in just three weeks. <\/p>\n

“We slept three hours a night and worked in shifts,” she recalled. <\/p>\n

To critics who dismiss the project as “garage engineering” or amateurism, Terekh says she is “very proud” of their roots. <\/p>\n

“The Ukrainian army today relies to a large extent on volunteers,” she said, arguing products therefore have to be “simple, clear and easily reproduced”. <\/p>\n

“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you need to leave and find another room where you’ll feel like an amateur,” she added. <\/p>\n

– Thousands of drones – <\/p>\n

Western defence experts and industry figures have described Fire Point as one of the key contributors to Ukraine’s long-range strikes against Russia. <\/p>\n

Terekh declines to disclose the company’s revenues but says production now runs into thousands of drones each month.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Previously reported figures of 3,000 drones and 30 Flamingo missiles a month have since increased, she said. <\/p>\n

The criticism surrounding Fire Point has had at least one tangible consequence, she acknowledges: some projects with foreign partners were delayed for several months for additional compliance procedures. <\/p>\n

Those reviews have now been completed, Terekh said. <\/p>\n

Her ambition is now to help create a broad ballistic missile defence coalition — “something that does not yet exist in the world” — in which Fire Point hopes to play a central role. <\/p>\n

“We have all seen American Patriot systems remotely deactivated because of a political decision,” she said. <\/p>\n

“We do not want to find ourselves in a situation where such a political decision could be taken for the skies above Paris.” <\/p>\n

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