Ukrainian defense company Fire Point co-owner: Mindich wanted 50% of company, but we refused, no searches conducted

Denys Shtilerman, co-owner of the Ukrainian defense company Fire Point and its chief designer, said that businessman Tymur Mindich, who appears in a corruption case in the energy sector, showed "genuine interest" in buying into the company and sought to acquire a 50% stake.

"We became successful not thanks to Mindich; Mindich came to us because we had become successful. What do I mean? In March 2024, open trials were held by the Defense Forces together with the U.S. Embassy. The task was to fly under EW interference… and you had to hit the target. Not only Ukrainian companies were involved, but international ones as well. The only company that passed these trials was ours," Shtilerman said on Friday at the "Big Dialogue with Fire Point" event.

According to him, after that, the company was "flooded with offers" from people wanting to become co-owners or shareholders, and it also began receiving contracting proposals from the Defense Procurement Agency. One of those interested in becoming a co-owner was businessman Mindich.

"The negotiations were going quite well. He expressed genuine interest, but in the end we refused him. And that's it. We remained just acquaintances. We had one shared interest: the artist Vladyslav Shereshevsky. He loved him, and I also do. Nothing more," Shtilerman said.

Mindich "wanted to come in for a 50% stake," but according to Shtilerman, he did not offer enough money.

"We understood that after the trials, we were worth significantly more," he said.

He also commented on claims by MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak that he was possibly mentioned in NABU wiretap recordings as "Elektronik." Speaking to journalists, Shtilerman said he heard the name "Elektronik" for the first time.

Shtilerman also said that Mykhailo Tsukerman, the brother of Oleksandr Tsukerman, who appears in the NABU-released "Midas" operation tapes as "Sugarman," is his "personal banker."

"I explained long ago that I have known Mykhailo Davydovych Tsukerman for a very long time. At the very beginning of the war, I realized life had become dangerous… I gathered all the cash I had, and all the money my mother had, and I gave it to Mykhailo Davydovych. I wrote in my will what to do with that money," he said.

The Fire Point co-owner said he last visited their office in 2024.

"As far as I remember, I was at their office on Sofiyska Square even in 2024. That was the last time. That's all. I mostly communicate with Mykhailo Davydovych and I have great respect for him," he added, noting that Tsukerman later came to Kyiv and they met.

"He's my banker, the one to whom I entrusted my money… Like anyone who has lived through several banking crises, I don't really trust bank accounts. I keep my assets either in cash or in securities," Shtilerman said.

At the same time, he emphasized that this has nothing to do with the company's funds, because "Fire Point is a legal entity that has accounts only in the banks it works with." According to Shtilerman, "these are two state-owned banks."

The chief designer also refuted information about NABU searches at the company.

"There were no searches. We handed over all the documents they requested back in the spring of this year. It was several truckloads of documents. We provided everything, including all banking transactions and all documents they asked for," he said.

Fire Point director and co-owner Yehor Skalyha said that "every oversight body that is supposed to check and control state money" had taken interest in the company, but also confirmed that there were no searches or accusations.

"That's why we cooperate. We provide all the documents. We had no searches, and so far we have not had any accusations. There were specific questions about specific components. We provide answers and provide documents," he said.

Shtilerman also explained his connection with Ihor Fursenko, who appears in the "Midas" case under the alias "Reshik." According to him, Fursenko was involved in evacuating his ex-wife and children from Russia.

"Ihor Fursenko and his subordinate handled the evacuation of my family from Russia. My ex-wife and my two children were living in the Russian Federation and were not very eager to leave due to certain circumstances… I spoke with Ihor perhaps three times in my life. That's what he was dealing with. He was employed as an administrator. We couldn't describe his actual duties in documents, because that would have endangered my life and the life of my family, who were in Russia," Shtilerman explained.

When asked where the company got its initial funding to produce drones, the chief designer said: "It just so happens that I was a wealthy man long before the war, and I still am."

Skalyha, Shtilerman added, "was also not a poor man," as was technical director Iryna Terekh.

"Yes, this was our own money. We didn't borrow from anyone," Shtilerman added.

Skalyha also noted that "everything started in a garage," and at the time he had no idea how large their operations would eventually become.

"At first it was specific help for specific people. The first drone was a reconnaissance drone," he said.