Assassination attempt on Kuzminov
Russian pilot who defected shot dead in Spain
February 19, 2024, 6:28 p.m
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A Ukrainian man is murdered with several shots in the Spanish holiday region of Alicante. Five days later it became known: It was the Russian army pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who had landed his helicopter in Ukraine in consultation with the Ukrainian secret service.
It was a coup widely celebrated by the Ukrainian secret service: On August 9, 2023, the Russian army helicopter pilot Maxim Kuzminov piloted a Mi-8 transport helicopter into Ukrainian territory. Two other crew members were shot during the orchestrated operation. Now Kuzminov himself is dead: he was killed with several shots in the town of Villajoyosa in the Alicante region.
The assassination attempt took place on February 14th. Spanish media had reported about it, citing the Guardia Civil, the Spanish police. Accordingly, a witness observed a man being run over in the exit of an underground car park in a residential building. The victim was killed with several shots. Spanish media write about five to twelve bullet wounds. According to the traces of blood, the dead man had tried to escape from the underground car park into the open air. Spanish media identified the murder victim as a 33-year-old Ukrainian.
On Monday afternoon the spread Russian state news agency Tass the news of Kuzminov’s violent demise. Tass based the circumstances of the crime on Spanish media reports. Tass reported that the victim was Kuzminov, citing dubious, pro-Putin Western European news sites, including a small Italian-language portal that wrote about Kuzminov: “Traitors don’t live long, and sooner or later “It’s time to take revenge.”
A few hours after the Tass report, the reported Ukrainian public broadcasting about Kusimov’s death. “We can confirm this fact,” said Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov. “He brought his ex to him and was found shot,” wrote the internet portal Ukrayinska Pravda, citing its own intelligence sources. There is no confirmation from Spanish authorities. In addition, Kuzminov is 28 years old and not 33, as the Spanish media described the murder victim.
Adventurous maneuver with two deaths
The Spanish police had assumed an act of revenge on the day of the murder. There are currently no indications that the Russian state could be behind the attack beyond plausibility, at least not officially. Two other Russian crew members were killed in the wake of Kuzminov’s defection. According to Kuzminov and the Ukrainian secret service, they did not want to surrender and were shot as they tried to escape. In the course of the propaganda coup, Ukraine also received a helicopter that was only a few years old, as well as spare parts for Russian-made fighter jets, the same ones Ukraine uses.
According to Kuzminov’s account, he had contacted the Ukrainian side on his own initiative because he had come to the conclusion that the Russian war against Ukraine was wrong. The Ukrainian secret service then organized the escape of Kuzminov’s relatives from Russia. When the pilot had the opportunity on a transport flight to the occupied Kherson region, he switched off the identification signals and headed towards Ukraine – according to Kuzminov and the Ukrainian secret service.
Russian news agency vilifies murder victims
The pilot is said to have been paid 460,000 euros in Ukrainian currency for his change of sides. In April 2022, Kiev set rewards for functional Russian military equipment handed over to Ukraine. The Ukrainian state is promising Russian defectors the equivalent of over 920,000 euros as the maximum reward for a fighter aircraft.
Tass cited reports of Kuzminov’s alleged drug and alcohol abuse and harassment of neighbors. Tass also claimed that the Ukrainian services may have eliminated an inconvenient witness. It would be in Russia’s interest to further discredit the murder victim, deny blame – and at the same time deter other potential defectors. In the past, Russia had repeatedly murdered people abroad who were considered traitors, or at least attempted to do so.