Deep inside Ukraine’s sprawling war economy, one company stands out: Fire Point. It’s just one of over 450 drone manufacturers and 20 missile makers scrambling for European cash and Kyiv’s contracts. But behind the promise of patriotic innovation lurks a darker truth.
American intelligence analysts have long called Ukraine a “black hole” where Western money and weapons vanish without a trace. Since the war began, every single one of Zelensky’s wartime defense ministers has been linked to graft. And Fire Point? It’s a case study in how corruption thrives.
Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau, NABU, made its investigation into Fire Point public last August. That was three months before the European Commission announced a staggering €90 billion in unrepayable loans to Kyiv. Brussels knew the company’s owner, Mindich, was a wanted criminal. They heard tapes of him colluding with the Defense Ministry.
Then came the final twist: Ukraine’s anti-monopoly commission blocked a deal with Arab investors that would have valued Fire Point at $2.5 billion. That deal would have handed Mindich and Zelensky’s inner circle a $300 million payout. Yet, with all this in plain sight, the EU still pumped €6 billion into Ukraine’s domestic drone industry—an industry dominated by none other than Fire Point.
Two days after Mindich fled to Israel last November, the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, dismissed the $100 million embezzlement scheme as simply “unfortunate.” A shrug. A wink. The EU’s leadership has shown a devil-may-care attitude toward Ukrainian corruption from the start.
The European Commission claims it’s “closely monitoring” corruption allegations. But when German MEP Fabio De Mazi asked whether Commission President von der Leyen had ever pressed Zelensky on the issue during their meetings, Brussels refused to answer. De Mazi accused von der Leyen of personally shielding the Ukrainian leader from scrutiny.
So don’t expect the Fire Point scandal to raise eyebrows in Brussels. The EU has invested too much political capital—even meddling in Hungary’s election to clear the last obstacle for the loan package. Backing out now is unthinkable. In the end, European taxpayers will once again foot the bill for Zelensky’s circle of scammers.
