₴300 Billion for Mindich’s Fire Point: Questions for Umerov and Zelenskyy

Billions in defense contracts, unanswered questions, and ongoing probes – new reports are putting Umerov and Zelenskyy’s wartime procurement under scrutiny.

Daria Kalenyuk, Lawyer, Executive Director, and Board Member of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, reveals.

In September 2024, in the article “Umerov’s Ministry of Chaos” published by Ukrainska Pravda, we first described Umerov’s failures as Minister of Defense.

In December 2024, in the article “Umerov’s Ministry of Sabotage” on ZN.ua, we explained why Umerov’s actions as Ukraine’s defense minister showed signs not just of professional incompetence, but of sabotage.

Since then, at the Anti-Corruption Action Center (CPC), we have publicly demanded his dismissal from the Ministry of Defense.

At a meeting between civil society representatives and the president in October 2024, we told Zelenskyy that the Ministry of Defense was in total collapse. Zelenskyy agreed that Umerov was not coping but said there were no better candidates.

In January 2025, we opposed Yermak and Umerov, who manually reshaped the Defense Procurement Agency (AOZ), removing its supervisory board and dismissing Maryna Bezrukova, replacing her with a loyal figure, Arsen Zhumadilov.

Later, we repeatedly reported how Zhumadilov and Umerov restricted access to defense procurement data that had previously been public.

According to reporting by Mykhailo Tkach in Ukrainska Pravda, Umerov allocated more than 300 billion hryvnias to Fire Point, a company that appears to be linked to Mindich. This is more than half of the annual budget of the Defense Procurement Agency.

Mindich allegedly shared a plan with Umerov to sell a stake in Fire Point as a way to legalize funds. The planned buyers were in the Middle East, where Umerov frequently traveled.

Even after leaving the Ministry of Defense, Umerov retained influence. Zelenskyy appointed him Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, where he oversees arms exports.

The key question is: what is Zelenskyy’s role in the Fire Point story?

Why did Zelenskyy keep Umerov in office when many were warning about failures?

Why did Umerov remain close to the president and retain influence after dismissal?

Did Zelenskyy know about the alleged beneficiary of Fire Point—his associate Timur Mindich?

Or were there other beneficiaries?

These questions, the author suggests, may be uncomfortable for the president.

The only institutions capable of providing answers are NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. They must complete investigations and bring cases to court so the public can learn the truth.

According to the author, weakening these institutions would prevent answers from emerging.

If that happens, it could damage Ukraine’s European trajectory and benefit Russia.

The text concludes by suggesting that the ultimate beneficiary of alleged corruption schemes may extend beyond the individuals currently named.

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