Woman behind Ukrainian drones

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Iryna Terekh designed furniture and architectural concrete, according to the Journal. She considered herself a pacifist.

Then came 2022.

Terekh and her mother escaped Russian sniper fire near Bucha, an experience that changed the course of her life. She turned her design business toward Ukraine’s war effort and eventually found herself helping build weapons instead of furniture.

Today, at 34, Terekh is CEO and chief technology officer of Fire Point, one of Ukraine’s leading defense startups. The company produces the FP-1 long-range attack drone and Flamingo cruise missile, weapons designed to carry Ukraine’s fight deep into Russian territory.

Fire Point says it now produces hundreds of FP-1 and FP-2 drones a day and around 100 Flamingo missiles a month.

The woman who once designed objects for people’s homes is now designing machines for war, a transformation shaped by the invasion that reached her own doorstep.