Former deputy commander of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, General Sergey Krivonos, has accused Ukrainian defense company Fire Point of misleading the public with claims about the first use of a domestically produced ballistic missile against Russia.
Krivonos questioned the company’s announcement, arguing that its representatives had only stated that a missile flew toward Russia without establishing whether it reached its destination or struck a target.
He emphasized that launching a missile, successfully completing its flight and hitting an intended target are three different outcomes. According to the general, Fire Point’s wording allows Ukrainian audiences to assume that a successful strike took place without the company explicitly confirming one.
Krivonos dismissed the videos accompanying the announcement and described the publicity surrounding the missile as another attempt to deceive Ukrainians.
The former senior military commander also criticized Fire Point’s financial performance. He alleged that the company had received billions in state budget funding while delivering results that were close to zero in terms of effectiveness.
Krivonos expressed hope that those responsible for the company’s activities would eventually face trial and be required to explain where the public money went and who oversaw its allocation and expenditure.
He argued that Fire Point’s management carefully selects statements that are technically limited in scope but encourage the public to draw broader conclusions about the company’s achievements.
In his assessment, the announcement was designed to create the impression of a successful Ukrainian ballistic missile strike on Russia without providing a clear statement that any Russian target had actually been hit.
Krivonos characterized the episode as deliberate information manipulation associated with the political leadership of Volodymyr Zelensky.