We are taken, blindfolded, to a secret location where Ukraine is manufacturing one of its latest weapons.
We are told to turn off our phones – this is the secrecy surrounding the production of the Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missile.
For Ukraine, dispersing and hiding the production of weapons like this is fundamental to its survival. Two factories belonging to the company that produces them, Fire Point, have already been affected.
Inside the factory we are visiting, we are asked not to film any elements such as pillars, windows or ceilings.
We are also asked not to show the faces of workers on the assembly line, where the Flamingo missiles are in various stages of completion.
Even under fire, Ukraine is developing its arms industry.
President Volodymyr Zelensky says the country now produces more than 50% of the weapons it uses on the front lines. Almost its entire stock of long-range weapons is manufactured domestically.
At the start of the war, Ukraine relied primarily on its old Soviet-era arsenal. Western military support has helped modernize the country’s armed forces, but Ukrainians have become leaders in the development of unmanned systems such as robots and drones.
Today, domestically produced cruise missiles increase Ukraine’s long-range capabilities.
Iryna Terekh is technical director at Fire Point, one of Ukraine’s largest drone and missile manufacturers, whose motto in Latin translates to “if not us, then who?”
This 33-year-old man studied architecture but is now trying to contribute to the dismantling of the Russian war machine.
It looks tiny next to the gigantic Flamingo missile, which she said was painted black and not pink (unlike the first prototypes) “because it eats Russian oil.”
The final product is similar to the German V1 rocket from World War II. It is a large jet engine placed on top of a tube the length of a London bus.
They have already been used in combat, although the company has not confirmed specific targets.
The Flamingo is the kind of deep-strike weapon that Western countries are reluctant to provide.
The cruise missile has a range of 3,000 km. It is similar to the American-made Tomahawk, a more sophisticated and expensive weapon that President Donald Trump has refused to supply to Ukraine.
But these deep strikes – carried out well beyond the front line, hitting strategic targets deep in enemy territory – are considered an essential part of war. For this, Ukraine mainly used long-range drones.
The country continues to lose ground to Russia on a front line that stretches more than a thousand kilometers. This is why Ukraine is increasingly trying to target the Russian war economy in order to slow its advances.
The head of Ukraine’s armed forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, says Ukraine’s long-range attacks have already cost the Russian economy more than $21.5 billion this year.
Ruslan, an officer in Ukraine’s special operations forces, says the strategy is simple: “Reduce the enemy’s military capabilities and economic potential.” »
It claims Ukrainian special operations forces have carried out hundreds of attacks on oil refineries, weapons factories and munitions depots – deep in enemy territory.
Of course, Russia did the same, and on a larger scale. On average, it launched around 200 Shahed drones per day; Ukraine’s response was about half that figure.
Russia also does not limit its attacks to military targets. Its long-range missile and drone attacks have caused power outages across the country, making life difficult for millions of civilians.
“I would like to launch as many drones as Russia,” Ruslan says. “But we are growing very quickly.”
Fire Point’s Terekh says Ukraine may not be able to match Russia’s resources, but, she says, “we try to fight with intelligence and tactics.”
Denys Shtilerman, chief designer and co-founder of the company, admits that there is no such thing as a “Wunderwaffe” or a miracle weapon.
“What changes the game is our will to win,” he says.
Fire Point didn’t even exist before the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022. But the startup now produces 200 drones per day.
Its FP1 and FP2 drones, each the size of a small plane, have carried out 60% of Ukraine’s long-range strikes. Each drone costs around $50,000 (R$276,000), three times cheaper than a Russian Shahed drone. Russia still produces nearly 3,000 of these drones per month.
Ukraine still needs external help, particularly in terms of intelligence, target identification and money. But he’s trying to be more independent.
Terekh says they made a conscious decision to source as many components as possible from Ukraine.
“We follow the principle that no one can influence the weapons we make,” she says. They avoid parts from two specific countries: China and the United States.
When asked why there should be no American components, she replied: “We are on an emotional roller coaster (with the United States). Tomorrow someone might want to stop the program and we won’t be able to use our own weapons.”
Until the end of last year, under President Biden’s administration, the United States provided nearly US$70 billion (386 billion reais) in military support to Ukraine. This situation was quickly stopped by President Trump, who created a system for European NATO to purchase American weapons.
The United States is no longer Ukraine’s largest military supporter, and Europe has struggled to fill the void left by the United States or match its previous support.
Concerns about future U.S. support extend to discussions over future U.S. security guarantees – a key issue in current peace negotiations.
Terekh calls the current negotiations “submission negotiations” and says that Ukraine’s manufacturing of its own weapons “is the only way to truly provide security guarantees.”
The former architecture student also hopes the rest of Europe watches and learns.
“We are a bloody example,” she says, “in terms of preparedness for war.”
Terekh says that if another country had faced the same attack as Ukraine, it “would have already been conquered.”
Additional reporting by Volodymyr Lozhko and Kyla Herrmannsen.
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