The press service of the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, stated that the establishment of the authenticity and completeness of the audio recordings published in the media is the exclusive competence of law enforcement agencies. It is noted that using information from unofficial sources may lead to the dissemination of inaccurate or unverified information.
This is reported by Kyiv24
“The authenticity, completeness, and relevance of any recordings or fragments must be established by law enforcement agencies. Using other sources may lead to the indication of unverified or inaccurate information,” the press service of Umerov told the Interfax-Ukraine agency, commenting on the fragments of recordings of conversations between businessman Timur Mindich and then-Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov regarding the possible procurement of Fire Point products published by the publication Ukrainian Truth.
Assessment of the stated amounts and Fire Point’s activities
In response to media publications regarding the financing of Fire Point, Umerov’s press service emphasized that the amount of over 300 billion mentioned in the information space is not accurate. According to them, this is the total volume of financing for the procurement of unmanned aerial vehicles in Ukraine, which includes hundreds of manufacturers and various types of drones: from FPV, reconnaissance to bombers and long-range systems. At the same time, Fire Point, founded in 2022, has become one of the key producers of Ukrainian long-range UAVs, which, as noted by the Defense Forces, have demonstrated effectiveness during deep operations on Russian territory.
Details of the case and reactions from the parties
In November 2025, Umerov had already provided all necessary explanations to law enforcement agencies regarding this topic. The press service emphasized that he does not have the authority to comment on materials of the criminal proceedings. However, it is highlighted that the Minister of Defense’s communication on issues of supplying weapons for the Defense Forces is his official duty. Since 2024, Umerov has focused efforts on combining the interests of international partners and domestic manufacturers in the defense sector.
On April 29, Ukrainian Truth published the first part of the recordings, presumably made in businessman Timur Mindich’s apartment in the summer of 2025 as part of the Midas case. The recordings feature conversations between Mindich and then-Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov regarding the possible procurement of Fire Point products, as well as the possible appointment of Umerov as ambassador to the USA. Journalists indicate that Mindich complained about insufficient funding for Fire Point. According to investigations, one of the beneficiaries of the company may be Mindich himself, although he denies this.
After the publication of the materials, the head of the temporary investigative commission of the Verkhovna Rada, Oleksiy Honcharenko, invited Umerov to provide testimony at the commission’s meeting on May 13. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau is currently not commenting on the published information.
In November 2025, NABU announced the exposure of a criminal organization that systematically received illegal benefits from contracts with Energoatom. Eight individuals are suspects in this case, including businessman Timur Mindich, co-founder of the Kvartal-95 studio. According to law enforcement, Mindich left Ukraine on the night of November 10 and is currently under sanctions from the National Security and Defense Council. In a media comment, he stated that he has no intention of returning to Ukraine and calls the accusations against him “manipulations.”