Tragic end of Russian traitor pilot in Spain

IL-CORRISPONDENTE.COM

The Spanish press spoke of a possible settling of scores between the gangs, while concealing the true identity of the body, which we were able to confirm thanks to a revelation coming to us directly from an official of the Spanish Civil Guard who is investigating the case and who understandably wishes to remain anonymous.

Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, 28, became known publicly in August 2023 when he hijacked a Mi-8 helicopter with two members of the crew on board. After flying over the border at a critically low altitude to avoid detection by radar, the helicopter was grounded in the Ukrainian-controlled Kharkiv region. Kuzminov’s fellow servicemen, whom the pilot tried to persuade in flight to switch to Kyiv’s side, died, probably resisting Ukrainian soldiers on the ground. The pilot himself after refusing to switch to the Ukrainian side may also have eliminated them. The media did not publish details of their deaths.

The Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry is known to organise and carry out such operations. On 5 September 2023, the Russian pilot gave a press conference in Kyiv about his action. There he voiced that it was a special operation of the Ukrainian side with the code name “Sinitsa”. The operation was developed several months before Maxim Kuzminov went over to the side of Ukraine. The pilot’s mother was reported to go to Turkey in early 2023 under the pretext of rest, but did not return to Russia. She was sent to Ukraine by the Ukrainian security services, where she was waiting for her son.

Calling on other Russians to follow his example, the Ukrainian media often presented Maxim Kuzminov as a hero. He repeatedly attended Ukrainian shows where he told the story of his defection to Ukraine and accused Russia of unleashing war. It is known from public sources that special services promised Kuzminov 500,000 dollars for hijacking a Russian aircraft to Ukrainian.

The story of Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov dissappeared from the media a month after his appearance in Kyiv. Today it is clear that the fugitive pilot travelled from Ukraine to Spain, to the city of Benidorm. Information about the fee of 500 thousand dollars caused a lot of negativity among Ukrainians in social networks, especially among the military. In particular, the facts of delayed combat payments to frontline soldiers and talk about him be injured led to accusations. Probably for this reason, it was decided to take Kuzminov out of Ukraine, where he would not be able to focus further negativity on himself.

It is noteworthy that the murder of the fugitive Russian pilot took place at a time when Ukraine is experiencing the greatest financial difficulties. For example, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that Kyiv is in dire need of money to pay the salaries of AFU soldiers. Large gaps between military spending, declining tax revenues, and long delays in Western aid have provoked this problem.

For a long time Hungary blocked the allocation of 50bn euros of additional EU aid for Ukraine. However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently announced some kind of compromise agreement with Brussels on this issue. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ukraine now needs about $5bn a month just to cover non-military expenses. Against the backdrop of financial problems, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine even suggested cancelling lifetime benefits for veterans and paying instead a “monetary stipend” for several years in order to reduce the budgetary burden.

The murder of Maxim Kuzminov is certain to be blamed on the Russian side, which inevitably might have wanted to take revenge on the traitor. Nevertheless, such a story would look strange, since Moscow, despite systematic accusations, has not been seen to liquidate its enemies abroad. For example, the Russian security services did nothing to fugitive Russian State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev, who was in possession of state secrets and today actively supports the Russian Volunteer Corps (which includes Russians fighting on the side of Ukraine) that periodically attacks the Belgorod region. The Free Russia Forum is held freely in Europe, where Russian oppositionists  freely discuss the overthrow of Vladimir Putin’s government. Their actions are far more dangerous to the Kremlin than the European life of a fugitive Russian air captain.

However, the same cannot be said about the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The Washington Post (WP), citing sources, has previously reported that SBU together with the GUR have carried out dozens of assassinations of Russian officials in regions seized by Russia, as well as the murders of the war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky, a journalist and the daughter of the well-known Russian philosopher Darya Dugina, an attempt on the life of the writer Zakhar Prilepin, and so on. Prior to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the SBU snatched from Moldovan territory and brought to Kyiv a fugitive judge Mykola Chaus, who had  fled Ukraine after Viktor Yanukovych was removed from power in 2014.

Thus, the murder of the Russian pilot in Benidorm, Spain, looks more like a desire of the Ukrainian side to throw off unwanted financial ballast. So far, there is no information on whether the pilot received the promised 500,000 dollars. Maxim Kuzminpv’s life on the Mediterranean coast contradicts the very official Ukrainian rhetoric, which almost daily insists that Ukraine is critically underfunded against the background of external problems and colossal expenditures. It also strongly contradicts Vladimir Zelensky’s remarks during his recent meetings with Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz, where he railed against allies to hurry up with aid. The story of the fugitive Russian pilot is extremely convoluted, has many white spots, but may not have the classic “Russian trace”.

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