The secret facility that the BBC had access to and where Ukraine produces long-range missiles

Two men in black clothes and hats build a Flamingo rocket in a secret factory — caption, He *Flamingo rocket* is a new cruise missile from Ukraine designed to strike deep into Russian territory with a range of up to 3,000 km.

- Author, Jonathan Beale
- Author title, BBC defense correspondent in Kyiv
December 19, 2025
Reading time: 7 mins

We were blindfolded and led to a secret location where Ukraine is making one of its newest weapons.

They ordered us to turn off our phones. Once inside, we were told that we were not allowed to film any features of the facility, such as columns, windows or ceilings. We were also asked not to show the faces of the workers on the assembly line where the Flamingo rockets were in various stages of construction.

Such is the level of secrecy surrounding the production of the Ukrainian “Flamingo” cruise missile.

Ukraine, which is still under attack, is expanding its arms industry. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the country now produces more than 50% of the weapons it uses on the front lines. Almost the entire inventory of long-range missiles is manufactured domestically.

At the start of the war, Ukraine relied on its old Soviet-era arsenal. Western military support helped modernize the country’s armed forces, but today the country is a world leader in the development of autonomous systems such as robots and drones.

Currently, the cruise missiles produced at this facility increase Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities.

An incomplete Flamingo rocket at a factory in Kyiv. The fuselage is long and black, with a turbine on top — caption, Ukraine builds missiles in secret factories. The BBC team was blindfolded.

Iryna Terekh is the technical director at Fire Point, one of Ukraine’s largest drone and missile manufacturers, whose Latin motto is “If not us, then who?” is.

The 33-year-old civil servant, who was once an architecture student, is now trying to help dismantle the Russian war machine.

It looks physically small in front of the giant Flamingo rocket, which, he tells me, is painted black rather than pink (unlike the first prototypes) “because it runs on Russian oil.”

Destinations within Russia

The final product is similar to the German V1 rocket from World War II. It consists of a large jet turbine placed on a tube the length of a bus.

They have already used it in combat, although the company does not confirm against which specific targets.

Irena Terekh from Fire Point. A young woman with long black hair in a gray jacket talking to the BBC — caption, Irena Terekh from Fire Point dropped out of her architecture studies to pursue a career in the defense industry.

The Flamingo is the kind of high-impact weapon that Western nations are reluctant to supply.

The cruise missile is said to have a range of 3,000 km. This is similar to the US-made tomahawk, a more complex and expensive weapon that US President Donald Trump refused to give to Ukraine.

But attacks on deep areas, in which Ukraine primarily uses long-range drones, are also considered a crucial part of the war. However, it is still losing ground to Russia on a front more than a thousand kilometers long.

Therefore, Ukraine is increasingly trying to influence Russia’s war economy in order to stop this progress.

Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi says Ukrainian long-range strikes have already cost the Russian economy more than $21.5 billion this year.

A caricature of a flamingo is painted on a cupboard door at a secret missile factory in Ukraine — caption, The name Flamingo refers to the first prototypes of the rocket, which were painted pink.

Ruslan, an officer in the Ukrainian special forces, explains that the strategy is simple: “Reduce the enemy’s military capabilities and economic potential.”

He says special operations forces have carried out hundreds of attacks on oil refineries, weapons factories and ammunition depots deep in their enemy’s territory.

Russia, of course, is doing the same thing, and on a larger scale. On average, about 200 Shahed drones were launched daily; Ukraine’s response was about half that.

But Russia does not limit its attacks only to military targets. Its long-range missiles and drone strikes have caused massive power outages across the country and made life difficult for millions of civilians.

“I would like to launch as many drones as Russia,” says Ruslan. “But we are increasing them very quickly.”

Fire Point’s Terekh notes that Ukraine may not be able to match Russia’s resources, but he says, “We’re trying to fight with wits and tactics.”

Denys Shtilerman, chief designer and co-founder of the company, admits that this is not the case Miracle weapon or miracle weapon.

“The turning point is our will to win,” he explains.

Ruslan, a Ukrainian special forces officer, wears a black sweater and hides his identity behind a cap and scarf that covers his nose and nose. — caption, Ruslan, an officer in Ukraine’s special forces, says they are rapidly increasing production of domestically made weapons.

Self-sufficiency

Fire Point didn’t even exist before Russia’s full-scale invasion.

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 about $50,000, a third of the price of a Russian Shahed drone. Russia still produces almost 3,000 of them per month.

Ukraine continues to need foreign assistance, particularly in the areas of intelligence, targeting and money. However, attempts are being made to be more self-sufficient.

Terekh says they made a conscious decision to find the sources of as many of their components as possible in Ukraine.

“We adhere to the principle that no one can interfere with the weapons we build,” he says. They avoid sourcing components from two specific countries: China and the United States.

Asked why there should be no American components, he replies: “We are on an emotional roller coaster (with the US). Tomorrow someone might want to cancel it and we wouldn’t be able to use our own weapons.”

A gray drone that looks like a small airplane is placed on a wooden structure — caption, Fire Point currently produces 200 drones per day.

At the end of last year, the United States under President Joe Biden provided the equivalent of almost $70 billion in military aid to Ukraine.

This was quickly stopped by President Trump, who in turn introduced a system that allowed European NATO countries to buy American weapons.

Washington is no longer Ukraine’s main military backer, and Europe is struggling to fill the gap left by the US or match its previous support.

There are doubts about American support in discussions about the future of security guarantees from Washington, a central issue in the current peace talks.

Terekh dismisses the ongoing negotiations as “surrender talks” and emphasizes that Ukraine’s own weapons production is “the only way to really provide security guarantees.”

The former architecture student also hopes that the rest of Europe will watch and learn from it.

“We are an excellent example of war preparation,” he emphasizes.

Terekh claims he wants to push them into action and believes that if any other country had experienced the same onslaught as Ukraine, “it would have been conquered by now.”

Additional reporting by Volodymyr Lozhko and Kyla Herrmannsen