Behind the destruction in Russia: The creators of missiles and UAVs in the heart of Europe
34-year-old Iryna Terek heads the largest private defense company in Ukraine, responsible for the UAVs and missiles striking targets across Russia.
34-year-old Iryna Terek used to design benches and street furniture for public spaces in Ukraine. Today, according to an extensive profile published in the Wall Street Journal, she serves as the CEO and Chief Technology Officer of Fire Point, the largest private defense company in Ukraine, which employs about 7,000 workers and is responsible for the UAVs and missiles that are striking infrastructure deep inside Russia.
The sharp turn in Terek's life occurred in March 2022. While trying to rescue her mother from the Bucha area, her vehicle came under fire from Russian snipers. The two were forced to hide in a basement for days, tracking the exchange of fire, and finally managed to escape to Kiev. The horrific massacre that was revealed in Bucha afterwards completely changed the person who had defined herself until then as a pacifist.
"I would never have dealt with weapons if they hadn't invaded my country," she told the Wall Street Journal.
In 2023, she joined Fire Point, which was founded by entrepreneur Denis Shtilerman. Shtilerman was looking for a person with a business sense who would succeed in turning prototypes into mass-production products. Terek got down to business, studied old Soviet manuals, and sought help from experts. Thanks to her knowledge of materials and production processes, she managed to shorten the work time on a UAV wing from six days to just two and a half hours. The company's flagship product, the FP-1 UAV, with a confirmed range of about 3,380 kilometers, has become a central tool in Ukrainian attacks on refineries and infrastructure deep inside Russia.
In 2024, the company tested a destructive cruise missile nicknamed "Flamingo," which carries a warhead weighing about 1,130 kg. When a pink prototype of the missile drew chauvinistic taunts from some of the employees, Terek was not deterred. She turned the joke into a growth engine: she recruited more women to the company and eliminated the gender pay gap in an industry that is overwhelmingly male. Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who currently serves on the company's board of directors, praised her impressive ability to adapt to the complexity of the military industry.
From a designer who dreamed of bringing people together through architecture, Terek has become a determined military leader. "To build something beautiful, you first have to destroy something ugly," she concludes, adding that unlike many Ukrainians who harbor fruitless rage in the face of Russian destruction, she at least has the practical tools to release it and fire back.
