{"id":5699,"date":"2026-04-30T18:29:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T18:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/?p=5699"},"modified":"2026-05-15T19:39:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T19:39:18","slug":"zelenskys-favorite-drone-company-at-center-of-ukrainian-corruption-alert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/30\/zelenskys-favorite-drone-company-at-center-of-ukrainian-corruption-alert\/","title":{"rendered":"Zelensky\u2019s favorite drone company at center of Ukrainian corruption alert"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry must cut its ties with a drone maker touted globally by Vladimir Zelensky and linked to fugitive businessman Timur Mindich, his longtime associate, the ministry\u2019s Public Anti-Corruption Council (PAC Council) has said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The permanent advisory board issued a damning statement on the latest corruption scandal on Wednesday, shortly after Ukrainian media published new transcripts of the \u2018Mindich tapes\u2019 \u2013 covert recordings made by Western-backed anti-graft bodies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The newly published materials, among other things, suggested that Mindich was effectively running the Ukrainian weapons manufacturing company Fire Point. The transcripts are reportedly of a conversation between the businessman and then Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who currently heads Ukraine\u2019s National Security Council.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the tapes, Mindich pressed Umerov for additional funding and discussed proposals from a UAE investor, as well as how shareholders could get $300 million in cash. Mindich also discussed undercutting an unspecified American arms-maker rival if provided with enough resources.<\/p>\n

The PAC Council called the reports \u201cverified but significant evidence\u201d<\/em> of ties between Mindich and Umerov. Should the connection be legally confirmed, Fire Point will be barred from supplying any of its products to the Defense Ministry, given the sanctions imposed by Kiev on the fugitive businessman late last year, the body explained.\u00a0\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

The transcripts also indicate that the company knowingly falsified its records and misled its beneficiaries, which will likely result in a major fine and get labelled as a \u201crisky supplier,\u201d<\/em> it added. The alleged actions of Umerov appeared to show \u201csigns of abuse of power,\u201d<\/em> while the activities of Mindich likely had \u201csigns of abuse of influence\u201d<\/em> and \u201cincitement to misuse funds,\u201d<\/em> according to the council.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The latest corruption scandal presents a \u201ccomplex, multi-layered problem,\u201d<\/em> and the Ukrainian government now must \u201cchoose the least harmful strategy\u201d<\/em> for the Defense Ministry, which has been actively using Fire Point\u2019s products, the board suggested. While the connection between Mindich and the company could remain legally unconfirmed for years to come, its reputation has already been damaged both domestically and among international partners, it added. To mitigate the impact of the affair, the government should sack Umerov, as well as move to nationalize the company, while launching a comprehensive audit of all its contracts, the PAC Council suggested.<\/p>\n

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

\n \"\u00a9
Mindich at center of new leaks: What do they reveal about Zelensky\u2019s fugitive business partner?<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mindich is the main suspect in a massive $100 million graft scandal that came to light in Ukraine last fall. The Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor\u2019s Office (SAPO) alleged he had organized a crime ring to siphon money from the state nuclear operator Energoatom. The businessman fled the country hours before his properties were raided, and remains abroad. Ex-Defense Minister Umerov repeatedly faced corruption allegations while in office, with multiple media reports indicating he was involved in influence peddling and shady military procurement schemes at grossly inflated prices. Thus far however, he has not faced any legal trouble over his alleged actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Fire Point company, founded in 2022, has been actively promoted by Zelensky during his overseas tours. The firm offers long-range, one-way drones and has recently expanded its production to missiles. The only fielded munition of the latter type, the FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile, has reportedly demonstrated extremely poor accuracy and high failure rates, and some experts have suggested its characteristics were grossly inflated by the manufacturer. Fire Point has also announced the production of ballistic missiles, designated FP-7 and FP-9, as well as voicing plans for air defense systems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry must cut its ties with a drone maker touted globally by Vladimir Zelensky and linked to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5455,"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\/5699"}],"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=5699"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5701,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5699\/revisions\/5701"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/youtubexyoutube.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}