Behind the Destruction Wreaked in Russia: The Faces of the Missiles and Drones at the Heart of Europe
Iryna Terakh, 34, heads Ukraine's largest private defense company, 'Fair Point', responsible for drones and missiles wreaking havoc in Russia. After experiencing the Bucha massacre, she transformed from a pacifist into a weapons manufacturer. The company produces the FP-1 drone with a range of about 3,380 km and has tested a cruise missile named 'Flamingo' with a warhead of about 1,130 kg. Terakh recruited women and eliminated gender pay gaps. Mike Pompeo serves on the board.
Iryna Terakh, 34, stands behind Ukraine's largest private defense company, 'Fair Point', which is responsible for drones and missiles wreaking havoc across Russia. The turning point in her life occurred in March 2022, when, while trying to evacuate her mother from the Bucha area, her car came under fire from Russian snipers. The two hid in a basement for days and eventually fled to Kyiv. The horrific massacre revealed in Bucha afterward transformed her from a pacifist into a weapons manufacturer. In 2023, she joined the company founded by entrepreneur Denis Shtilerman and studied old Soviet training manuals to shorten the production time of a drone wing from six days to two and a half hours. The flagship product, the FP-1 drone, with a range of about 3,380 kilometers, is used for strikes on oil refineries and infrastructure deep inside Russia. In 2024, the company tested a cruise missile named 'Flamingo' with a warhead of about 1,130 kg. Terakh recruited women to the company and eliminated gender pay gaps. Mike Pompeo, former US Secretary of State, serves on the board and praised her adaptability. Terakh concludes: 'To build something beautiful, you first have to destroy something ugly.'