Russian pilot reveals details of daring defection to Ukraine in military helicopter
- Russian pilot who defected in Mi-8 helicopter appears in video published by Ukraine defence intelligence
- Helicopter’s crew – unaware of the pilot’s plans to defect – were killed on arrival after refusing to surrender
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Ukraine has named a Russian helicopter pilot that it said defected last month over his opposition to Moscow’s invasion after flying across the border in a “long-term special operation” led by Kyiv.
Kyiv’s Main Intelligence Directorate – the intelligence wing of Ukraine’s defence ministry – identified the pilot as 28-year-old Maxim Kuzminov, who served in the “319th separate helicopter regiment” based in Russia’s Far Eastern Primorye region.
In a statement on Monday, it described how it led the operation in “maximum secrecy”, by first recruiting the pilot after identifying that he was against the Kremlin’s invasion.
It said it helped the pilot fly into Ukraine and that two of the Mi-8 helicopter’s crew – unaware of Kuzminov’s plans to go to Ukraine and defect – were killed on arrival after refusing to surrender.
“I contacted representatives of the intelligence of Ukraine, explained my situation,” Kuzminov said in the video.
“I was offered security guarantees, new documents, monetary compensation, a reward. We discussed the details and started planning my flight directly.”
He then said he “transmitted my location” as he flew at an “extremely low altitude in radio silence mode” near the border.
Kyiv said it gave “security guarantees” to the pilot’s family that were “safely transported to Ukraine”.
“The finale of the operation is a helicopter flight to the specified spot and handover to the Ukrainian military,” its military intelligence agency said.
“Two other members of the helicopter crew, who were unaware of the pilot’s real plans, decided not to surrender and died immediately after landing,” it said.
In the video, it showed armed Ukrainian soldiers approaching a Russian helicopter, with the recognisable red star on it.
Ukraine has sought to incentivise Russian soldiers to defect since the war began in February 2022.
The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed a law last year aimed at targeting demoralised Russian troops, offering monetary rewards to Russian soldiers who defect with their equipment.
A helicopter fetches US$500,000, according to the legislation. It was not immediately clear if Kuzminov was compensated.
Russian propaganda outlets at the time said the helicopter landed at a Ukrainian airbase in Kharkiv by mistake after the pilot became disoriented, but Kuzminov rejected those claims.
“What is happening now is simply genocide of the Ukrainian people: both Ukrainian and Russian,” Kuzminov said.
The pilot said he defected because he did not want to be involved in committing war crimes.
“Ukraine will definitely win this war, simply because the people are very united,” Kuzminov said. “The whole world is helping because it understands that human life must be valued.”
Kuzminov encouraged other Russian pilots and members of the military to follow his example and defect.
“You’ll be provided for, for the rest of your lives. You will be offered a job everywhere, no matter what you do,” he said, according to a CNN translation.
Additional reporting by Business Insider
