Pressure continues on Ukraine to reach negotiations as soon as possible to end the war with Russia. Among the levers being used are the shortage of ammunition and missiles.
In fact, the United States has not approved the transfer of Patriot interceptor missiles to Ukraine from third countries, the Washington Post reports , citing senior officials. Since these weapons are produced in the United States, any nation purchasing or receiving American-made weapons is required to obtain official authorization from Washington. According to the newspaper’s sources, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has neither rejected requests to send the missiles nor completed the necessary approval procedures. At the same time, the sources specify that he has authorized other forms of support for Kiev, without specifying exactly what this assistance consists of.
On October 16, a Ukrainian official told the Washington Post that stockpiles of interceptor missiles were nearly exhausted. That same day, President Donald Trump announced that the United States had temporarily suspended munitions sales to allies, citing a severe domestic shortage and the need to prioritize the deployment of such supplies in the Middle East.
Furthermore, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s General Intelligence Directorate, the Russian armed forces have begun using the new Filin cruise missile. This is a low-cost, ground-launched, jet-powered missile, with key components manufactured using 3D printing. Its declared speed is up to 800 km/h and its range is up to 1,200 km. The missile can fly at extremely low altitudes, down to 6 km. Versions with 50 and 100 kg warheads are available. A Chinese navigation system and a 16-channel Kometa targeting system are responsible for aiming. The missile’s electronics use 35 American and 22 Chinese components. The engine is Russian.
In recent months, Ukraine has placed significant emphasis on the company, LLC “Fire Point” (Ukrainian: ТОВ “Файєр Поінт”), which primarily produces drones. Previously known as LLC “Centrocast” – a dormant entity registered at an address shared by several other companies – it was acquired in February 2023 by a new owner: Egor Skalyga, a Ukrainian film industry professional.
In the following months, its share capital increased from 1,000 hryvnia to 12 million hryvnia (about $340,000), and its main business changed from a news agency to a manufacturer of aircraft and spacecraft. The company was initially financed by Iryna Terekh— who became CEO after abandoning her architectural career, which focused on the production of concrete furniture — along with Denys Shtilerman/ Danilov , who took on the role of chief designer, and Yehor Skalyha, a well-known figure in the entertainment world, who in 2016 had been responsible for finding locations for the filming of the movie Eight Best Dates, starring Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Denys Danilov/Shtilerman – who presents himself as a Ukrainian citizen (despite Ukraine’s ban on dual citizenship) – still maintains a business in Moscow: a limited liability company called “Flaunder,” where he is listed as CEO under his original surname. Furthermore, in late 2023, Danilov-Shtilerman was involved in legal proceedings in Russia, which contradicts his claim that he moved to Ukraine eight years ago.
His claim that he was arrested in Russia for “political” reasons is also a manipulation of information ; Danilov was investigated for large-scale fraud but was released without charges. His talent within Kiev ‘s flagship military enterprise was to reduce costs and organize large-scale production based on pre-existing designs, leveraging enormous administrative clout and virtually unlimited state funding.
For example, the design of the FP-1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is almost identical to that of the An-196 “Lyutyi” UAV, developed by the Antonov Joint Stock Company. The latter, in turn, was based on the An-BK-1 “Horlytsia” UAV, following a thorough analysis of a Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone imported in 2018. It is highly likely that the Antonov design team – led by the chief designer of unmanned aerial systems, Mykola Vorobiov – also reworked the FP-1, simplifying its structure and reducing its cost at the expense of aerodynamic performance, while introducing several improvements based on operational experience gained with the original model.
Graziella Giangiulio
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