The Russian pilot who delivered a Mi-8 military helicopter to Ukraine has been murdered in Spain

@DefAviation ES 2·19·2024 · 21:31 0

El verano pasado vimos aquí la historia de un piloto ruso que se pasó a Ucrania con un helicóptero Mil Mi-8 AMTSh Terminator.

This was the capture by Ukraine of the '62 Red', a Russian helicopter Mi-8 AMTSh Terminator
Ukraine puts a price on Russian armament: this is what it will pay to those who hand it

That defection, organized by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR), was a serious blow for Russia. The Mi-8 AMTSh Terminator is a modern variant of the already veteran Mi-8 that entered service in the Russian Air Force in 2009. The helicopter was part of the 2nd Helicopter Squadron of the 337th Regiment of Independent Helicopters (Military Unit 12739), based at Tolmachevo airport. It was the first time that Ukraine captured a Russian helicopter thanks to a defection.

Shot to death in Villajoyosa, Spain

Last Wednesday, the news of the murder of a man riddled with bullets in Villajoyosa (Alicante, Spain) was known. It was then said that the victim was a man of Ukrainian origin and that he received five gunshot wounds. The Civil Guard is now investigating this crime.

This Monday, the Ukrainian newspaper Kyiv Post published that Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for the GUR, has confirmed that the murdered Villajoyosa is Captain Maxim Kuzminov, 28 years old, the Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine with that Mi-8 AMTSh Terminator. "We confirm the fact of death," Yusov told the Kyiv Post, without offering further details.

Russia's shadow over the murder of this pilot in Spain

At the moment, it is unknown who was the author or authors of this crime, but obviously, the shadow of Russia is over this crime. The Russian mafia has had a presence in Spain for many years and this criminal organization has had links with the Russian intelligence services for many years. Until now, it was unknown that Captain Kuzminov was in Spain, although it is very possible that the Russian intelligence services were aware of it.

With the data known today, this crime goes from becoming a police matter to being a matter of national security, which the National Intelligence Center (CNI) of Spain will have to investigate. It is not the first time that a Russian citizen has died in strange circumstances in Spain. In April 2022, two months after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a Russian oligarch and his family were found dead in Lloret de Mar (Gerona). It was the fourth death in strange circumstances of Russian gas company executives linked to the inner circle of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Captain Kuzminov appeared in a GUR video in September

As for Captain Kuzminov, this Russian pilot appeared in a published report by the GUR in September on YouTube. In that report, Kuzminov accused Russia of committing "genocide" against the Ukrainian people and added: "The truth is here: there are no fascists or Nazis here". The captain also said: "I am very sorry for what is happening now. The killings, the tears, the blood. People are just killing each other, and that's it. This is what the only thing I don't understand, the only thing I don't understand."

That video showed images of the moment of the desertion and Kuzminov spoke with his face uncovered, which may have contributed to making his identification easier for those who murdered him in Spain.

A crime in the midst of a scandal over Russian interference in Spain

This crime is fully known scandal over Russian interference in the 2017 separatist coup in Spain, a plot in which Kremlin agents contacted the entourage of Carles Puigdemont, ringleader of that coup and current ally of the Pedro Sánchez government. A government that was trying to cover up this Russian trap by affecting its parliamentary partners, when precisely the matter has jumped to the European Parliament, focusing the attention of all of Europe.

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Images: Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR).