[Steve Melton]

A pilot who hijacked a Russian military helicopter in August 2023 has allegedly been found shot dead in Spain. European media report that the man's body was found on the ramp of a garage in the town of La Villajoyosa in Alicante with bullet wounds. On 13 February, the body was discovered by a neighbour at around 5pm in a cottage community in the La Cala area. A burnt-out car was also reportedly found in the neighbouring town of El Campello. Spanish investigators speculate that the killer may have fled there after the murder.

Maksim Kuzminov in Kiev during a press conference (right)
There has been no official confirmation from Spanish police yet, but Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (MID), which oversaw the operation with Maxim Kuzminov and was responsible for his safety, has already confirmed the pilot's death. A spokesman for the department, Andriy Yusov, said: "We can confirm the fact of death." At the same time, the Ukrainian media write about some inconsistencies in the reports about Kuzminov's death. Thus, the Spanish media initially reported that a "33-year-old Ukrainian" was killed, while the pilot himself was 28 years old. At the same time, according to local resources, Maxim Kuzminov lived in Spain under a different name and a different biography, resulting in a confusion in age and citizenship.

Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov made headlines in the media in August 2023 when he drove an Mi-8 helicopter with two colleagues on board into Ukraine. His crew members, who were unaware of Kuzminov's scheme, were killed, probably refusing to take his side. The Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate was in charge of planning and carrying out the operation, codenamed "Sinitsa". In September 2023, the Russian pilot gave a large press conference in Kiev, where he described how the operation was developed. His mother travelled to Ukraine via Turkey in advance. The Russian pilot was promised $500,000 for fulfilling all of the MID's conditions, for which the MID was repeatedly criticised afterwards for such expenses. Ukrainian military officers also reproached and threatened Kuzminov, and he spoke about this publicly. This is probably the reason why it was decided to take Kuzminov out of Ukraine to Spain, where he would not be able to focus further negative attention on himself against the background of significant funding problems.

The Ukrainian side in the murder of Maxim Kuzminov blames the Russian side, which may have wanted to take revenge on the traitor. Nevertheless, the story looks strange, as Moscow, despite systematic accusations, has never been seen eliminating its enemies in Europe in recent years. Russia has far more serious and dangerous enemies abroad for the Kremlin than the fugitive pilot. At the same time, the same cannot be said, for example, about the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). For example, The Washington Post, citing sources, previously reported that the SBU, in conjunction with the MID, had committed dozens of murders of Russian officials in the Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine, as well as murders in "old Russia."

The murder of a Russian pilot in La Villajoyosa, Spain, may well be a consequence of the Ukrainian side's desire to get rid of financial ballast. There is still no information on whether the pilot received the promised reward. Maksym Kuzminov's life on the Cote d'Azur contradicts the very official Ukrainian rhetoric, which almost daily insists on Ukraine's total underfunding. It also strongly contradicts Vladimir Zelensky's statements during his latest European tour. Therefore, the story of Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov may have extremely unexpected details.

Source: https://il-corrispondente.com/politica/ ... no-a-lungo

[litwin]

A pilot who hijacked a Russian military helicopter in August 2023 has allegedly been found shot dead in Spain. European media report that the man's body was found on the ramp of a garage in the town of La Villajoyosa in Alicante with bullet wounds. On 13 February, the body was discovered by a neighbour at around 5pm in a cottage community in the La Cala area. A burnt-out car was also reportedly found in the neighbouring town of El Campello. Spanish investigators speculate that the killer may have fled there after the murder.

Maksim Kuzminov in Kiev during a press conference (right)
There has been no official confirmation from Spanish police yet, but Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (MID), which oversaw the operation with Maxim Kuzminov and was responsible for his safety, has already confirmed the pilot's death. A spokesman for the department, Andriy Yusov, said: "We can confirm the fact of death." At the same time, the Ukrainian media write about some inconsistencies in the reports about Kuzminov's death. Thus, the Spanish media initially reported that a "33-year-old Ukrainian" was killed, while the pilot himself was 28 years old. At the same time, according to local resources, Maxim Kuzminov lived in Spain under a different name and a different biography, resulting in a confusion in age and citizenship.

Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov made headlines in the media in August 2023 when he drove an Mi-8 helicopter with two colleagues on board into Ukraine. His crew members, who were unaware of Kuzminov's scheme, were killed, probably refusing to take his side. The Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate was in charge of planning and carrying out the operation, codenamed "Sinitsa". In September 2023, the Russian pilot gave a large press conference in Kiev, where he described how the operation was developed. His mother travelled to Ukraine via Turkey in advance. The Russian pilot was promised $500,000 for fulfilling all of the MID's conditions, for which the MID was repeatedly criticised afterwards for such expenses. Ukrainian military officers also reproached and threatened Kuzminov, and he spoke about this publicly. This is probably the reason why it was decided to take Kuzminov out of Ukraine to Spain, where he would not be able to focus further negative attention on himself against the background of significant funding problems.

The Ukrainian side in the murder of Maxim Kuzminov blames the Russian side, which may have wanted to take revenge on the traitor. Nevertheless, the story looks strange, as Moscow, despite systematic accusations, has never been seen eliminating its enemies in Europe in recent years. Russia has far more serious and dangerous enemies abroad for the Kremlin than the fugitive pilot. At the same time, the same cannot be said, for example, about the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). For example, The Washington Post, citing sources, previously reported that the SBU, in conjunction with the MID, had committed dozens of murders of Russian officials in the Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine, as well as murders in "old Russia."

The murder of a Russian pilot in La Villajoyosa, Spain, may well be a consequence of the Ukrainian side's desire to get rid of financial ballast. There is still no information on whether the pilot received the promised reward. Maksym Kuzminov's life on the Cote d'Azur contradicts the very official Ukrainian rhetoric, which almost daily insists on Ukraine's total underfunding. It also strongly contradicts Vladimir Zelensky's statements during his latest European tour. Therefore, the story of Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov may have extremely unexpected details.

Source: https://il-corrispondente.com/politica/ ... no-a-lungo

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