Ukrainian company Fire Point has the capability to strike the energy infrastructure of Moscow and St Petersburg, but using it would require political will from European partners.
This was stated by the company’s chief designer and co-owner, Denys Shtilerman, in comments to LB.ua on the sidelines of the annual YES conference.
Shtilerman said Ukraine has the technical means to plunge Moscow and St Petersburg into a large-scale blackout.
According to him, the issue is not so much technical capability as the political will of Ukraine’s European allies.
“The capability to plunge Moscow and St Petersburg into a total blackout exists,” Shtilerman said.
At the same time, he noted that using such capabilities could have political consequences for Ukraine because of partners’ positions.
According to the designer, after such strikes this could be viewed as a “war crime”, which could potentially affect further assistance to Ukraine. Shtilerman stressed that European countries must recognise Russia’s real capabilities. “Russia’s power exists only in Europeans’ own heads; it does not exist.”
He also said that, in his view, Russia must be stripped of its status as an imperial state.
“As soon as they understand this, as soon as they do it, Russia will disappear there as an empire in a very short time,” the Fire Point chief designer said.
Shtilerman also spoke about delays in testing the company’s new developments.
According to him, further testing will depend on funding. The company had expected to receive funds from a loan back at the end of last year, but the financing arrived only in 2026, which caused delays in the work.
“Everything is very delayed,” Shtilerman noted.
At the same time, he expressed hope that Ukraine’s European partners would gradually change their attitude towards Russia and recognise the need to bring the issue of Russian aggression to a final resolution.
According to Shtilerman, further support for Ukraine and the development of its defence capabilities will largely depend on that understanding.