The chief executive of Ukrainian defence company Fire Point has said Ukraine has learned that military strength is essential to achieving diplomatic progress, describing long-range strikes inside Russia as a key part of Kyiv's strategy.
Speaking to CNBC, Fire Point CEO Iryna Terekh said Ukraine's experience since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 had changed her view of how conflicts are resolved.
"We have to understand that we live, unfortunately, in the same timeline with a completely barbarous, imperialistic neighbor and we can expect whatever," Terekh said.
She added that she had once believed diplomacy alone could de-escalate tensions but no longer considered that possible based on the course of the war.
Fire Point, which manufactures missiles and drones, says it currently facilitates more than 60% of Ukraine's long-range strike operations.
The company produced about 200 drones in 2022, when it was founded, but has since expanded from three employees to more than 7,000. Terekh said Fire Point expects to manufacture more than 100,000 drones by the end of the year.
Among its products are the FP-1 series of long-range drones and the FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently highlighted the company's capabilities after an attack on an oil refinery in the Russian city of Omsk, saying the strike put Siberia "within reach of Ukrainian precision."
Terekh said Fire Point is also working to develop a ballistic missile interceptor that could be produced at a fraction of the cost of the US-made Patriot system.
She acknowledged, however, that achieving such a goal would require compressing a programme that typically takes decades into just a few years.
The company is also seeking to expand production of its Flamingo cruise missile but says delays in European funding have slowed progress.
According to Terekh, European bureaucracy has become one of the biggest obstacles facing Ukraine's defence industry.
She argued that regulatory delays prevent manufacturers from moving as quickly as wartime conditions require.
"When we compare these two threats, so the Russians and the bureaucracy, with the Russians you can fight with drones and missiles but how do you fight with bureaucracy when you cannot receive a paper that you need very much to do some job?" she said.
The European Commission declined to comment on her remarks.
Ukraine has intensified long-range drone strikes against targets inside Russia in recent months, including attacks on oil facilities and warehouses belonging to retail company Wildberries.
Analysts say the campaign aims to increase the economic cost of the war for Moscow while demonstrating that the conflict can directly affect Russian territory.
At the same time, Russia has stepped up missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, as Kyiv continues to call on its international partners to accelerate deliveries of ballistic missile interceptors.
