Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine shot dead in Spain: reports
- Pilot flew from Russia to Ukraine last August in a fully equipped Mi-8 army helicopter
- Russian state television had previously reported a secret service order to kill the man
Spain’s state news agency EFE reported on Monday that a body found on February 13 in the town of Villajoyosa, near Alicante in southern Spain, belonged to pilot Maksym Kuzminov, who had landed in Ukraine with his fully equipped Mi-8 helicopter last August.
After landing at a Ukrainian military airfield, the two other crew members were shot dead while fleeing.
A spokesperson for Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence confirmed to Reuters that Kuzminov had died in Spain, but did not specify the cause of death. Ukraine’s Ukrainska Pravda newspaper also reported that he had been found shot dead.
Spanish police have confirmed that a body was found of a gunshot victim in the town, but have not disclosed the victim’s identity. A source at Spain’s Guardia Civil police force told Reuters that the victim could have been living under a fake identity.
Spain’s La Informacion newspaper, which first reported the shooting, said investigators were searching for two suspects who had fled in a vehicle that was later found burnt out in a nearby town.