{"id":5683,"date":"2026-05-01T03:47:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T03:47:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=5683"},"modified":"2026-05-15T19:39:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T19:39:00","slug":"the-greatest-salesman-how-zelensky-promoted-his-favorite-weapons-company-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/01\/the-greatest-salesman-how-zelensky-promoted-his-favorite-weapons-company-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"The greatest salesman: How Zelensky promoted his favorite weapons company abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fire Point, marketed as a producer of cutting-edge drones and missiles, is reportedly owned by a businessman known in Kiev as \u201cZelensky\u2019s wallet\u201d who has fled Ukraine<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, whom US President Donald Trump once heralded as \u201cthe greatest salesman on Earth,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0has promoted his bag-man\u2019s weapons company at the center 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.<\/p>\n

Reported transcripts of surveillance recordings of Zelensky\u2019s longtime former business partner Timur Mindich \u2013 known as \u201cZelensky\u2019s wallet\u201d<\/em> in Kiev \u2013 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\u2019s backers and inflate its value.<\/p>\n

Fire Point co-owner Denis Shtilerman has consistently denied the company\u2019s ties to Mindich and dismissed the recordings as a slander campaign aimed at \u201cdamaging the reputation of one of Ukraine\u2019s most effective weapons producers.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Zelensky, though, with his ability to secure billions from foreign governments \u2013 the EU has just backed a \u20ac90 billion package for Kiev dressed as a \u201cloan\u201d<\/em> \u2013 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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

How often has Zelensky promoted Fire Point<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In recent weeks Zelensky has touted what he grandly announced as a \u201cEuropean joint security system\u201d\u00a0<\/em>to smiles and applause at\u00a0meetings across Germany, France and Norway, promoting Fire Point’s largely untested missiles as a “new patriot”<\/em> \u2013 a reference to the in-demand and highly expensive US batteries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But his weapons grade con-trick goes back further and deeper than that.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT
Zelensky\u2019s favorite drone company at center of Ukrainian corruption alert<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The \u2018most successful weapon\u2019<\/h2>\n

Just days after the Associated Press published the first photo of the Flamingo in August 2025, Zelensky described it as \u201cby far the most successful missile in Ukraine\u2019s arsenal.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u00a0are\u00a0no recorded cases of the weapon having been used in combat by then. He added that it would be mass-produced by February.<\/p>\n

Then Defense Minister Denis Shmygal hailed the Flamingo as \u201ca very powerful\u201d<\/em> weapon capable of striking deep inside Russia.<\/p>\n

Crowdfunded in EU,\u00a0cashed in Ukraine<\/h2>\n

In October 2025, Zelensky presented Fire Point as one of Ukraine\u2019s top drone makers at the International Defense Industries Forum in Kiev, which was attended by Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy 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,\u201d<\/em> Zelensky said.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"Vladimir
Zelensky\u2019s Fire Point explodes: RT breaks down the Kiev weapons trade insiders\u2019 codes for corruption<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Rocket fuel and special terms in Denmark<\/h2>\n

In 2025, Denmark announced plans to host a Fire Point rocket fuel production plant in Vojens, southern Jutland, near the Skrydstrup Air Base.<\/p>\n

Copenhagen rushed through special legislation forbidding any local, social or environmental opposition to the proposed plant, judging it to be in the national interest.<\/p>\n

In September 2024 and June 2025,\u00a0Umerov as Ukrainian Minister of Defense, met with his Danish counterpart to finalize protocols, knowing Fire Point was beneficially owned by Zelensky\u2019s close confidant Mindich and not by the former movie location scout Egor Skalyga, listed as Fire Point’s CEO and minority shareholder.<\/p>\n

Zelensky personally met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen multiple times in early 2025 to finalize the \u201cco-production\u201d<\/em> strategy and former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was brought onto the board of the Danish company.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT\"
A billion-dollar mirage: Do Ukraine\u2019s new missiles match the hype?<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Zelensky\u00a0closes deals for his “wallet”<\/h2>\n

During Zelensky\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are deeply grateful to President Zelensky for showing interest in our capabilities and for recognizing the value of Sener\u2019s contribution to Ukraine\u2019s air defense,\u201d<\/em> Sener President Andres Sendagorta said at the time.<\/p>\n

Fire Point signed a similar deal with German defense company Diehl during Zelensky\u2019s trip to Berlin in March. Diehl manufactures several anti-air missile systems, including IRIS-T.<\/p>\n

The transcripts reveal that Umerov told Mindich of incoming contracts worth several billion dollars.<\/p>\n

Shtilerman, the company face that has denied the businessman known as “Zelensky’s wallet”<\/em>\u00a0owned 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\u2019s technology into a joint European ballistic missile defense framework.<\/p>\n

Oil money from the Gulf<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In March Zelensky\u00a0proposed using Ukraine\u2019s \u201cfire points\u201d<\/em>\u00a0to unblock the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

On April 23, Zelensky announced that Ukraine had signed a drone deal with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to help them defend themselves and will continue to foster partnerships with other countries,\u201d<\/em> Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine could share its defense technology with the US.<\/p>\n

When did Zelensky welcome the first use of Fire Point?<\/h2>\n

In February, the Ukrainian military began reporting the use of the Flamingo in combat, which Zelensky later highlighted at international events.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s Udmurtia region.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe this is a real achievement for your industry,\u201d<\/em> Zelensky said, adding that the strike demonstrated \u201cthe high quality and accuracy\u201d<\/em> of the weapon.<\/p>\n

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 \u201ca large production line\u201d<\/em> but said Flamingo production would continue.<\/p>\n

What is the bottom line?<\/h2>\n

Zelensky and his backers have played a convenient role for Western war hawks and hoodwinked them at the same time. The West\u2019s pro-war cabal have been willing to accept\u00a0massive 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.<\/p>\n

Sitting on top of the rubble, will be Zelensky and his cabal, with begging bowls in one hand, a movie script and a sales pitch in the other.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fire Point, marketed as a producer of cutting-edge drones and missiles, is reportedly owned by a businessman known in Kiev […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5683"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5683"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5686,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5683\/revisions\/5686"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}