The Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, found dead in Spain, did not want to go to war and ended up flying his Mi-8 helicopter to Ukraine in a joint operation with that country’s intelligence service.
The death of the pilot was confirmed today by the representative of Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR), Andri Yusov, who told the media that the fact of death can be “confirmed”, although he did not mention the place where Kuzminov was found. .
According to Spanish media, it is the town of Vila Joiosa, in Alicante, which is home to a large Russian and Ukrainian community, a fact that has not yet been confirmed by the authorities.
The 28-year-old pilot graduated from the Sizran Aviation School in southern Russia. He was assigned to serve in the Russian Far East, where among his colleagues he had a reputation for being a “calm person” and asking for “peaceful work,” cargo operations that had nothing to do with military missions, according to the Russian Telegram channel Baza.
His friends say that Maxim was “afraid to die in the war” and wanted to leave the Army even before the start of the war in Ukraine, but “they wouldn’t let him.” Furthermore, the pilot was terrified of being captured in Ukraine.
The pilot’s colleagues claim that his girlfriend, who was unaware of his plans, stayed in Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East.
According to Baza, Kuzminov’s mother would also have left Russia before her son defected to Ukraine with his helicopter, something that occurred in the summer of 2023.
Once in Ukraine, to which he flew without the other two members of his crew learning of their fate and who were shot down after refusing to surrender, Kuzminov said that he did not want to be involved in war crimes and asked other Russian pilots to They followed his example.
He said he contacted representatives of Ukrainian military intelligence, who then guaranteed his safety, offered him new documents and compensation of half a million dollars before proceeding to plan the operation.
Kuzminov made the final decision while flying near the Russian-Ukrainian border on August 9. He then guided the helicopter across the border at an extremely low altitude.
“Apparently, for 3 or 4 days no one (in Russia) understood what happened to me. I landed and they welcomed me (in Ukraine),” he said. According to the video released by kyiv, Kuzminov was injured after landing, but was offered medical assistance in time.
During the video recording, the pilot and his family were in Ukraine, according to that country’s military intelligence.
Meanwhile, in Russia, the Military Training Committee opened a case for “treason” against Kuzminov and the relatives of his two companions who were murdered after landing in Ukraine asked him to pay with his life for what he did.
“If Maxim really did what he did, I hope they find him and kill him,” said the wife of one of the helicopter navigators, quoted by Russian television.
Kuzminov’s crewmates were decorated post-mortem by the Russian authorities.