Maksim Kuzminov, a Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine in August 2023, has reportedly been found shot dead in Spain, Ukrainska Pravda and other Ukrainian media outlets reported, citing the press service of Ukraine’s military intelligence.

According to the intel, the pilot was killed in Spain on 19 February, just six months after he landed in Ukraine’s Kharkiv aboard a Russian Mi-8 helicopter. His defection was said to be the result of a months-long special operation by Ukrainian military intelligence.

At the time, Kuzminov was on a routine flight transporting spare parts for Russian Su-27 and Su-30 fighter jets between two Russian airbases.

His family was taken out of Russia in advance before his defection. The Mi-8 remains in Ukraine along with the parts for fighter jets that it was supposed to deliver to the Russian airbase.

According to official legislation, a law signed by the President of Ukraine in April 2022 stipulates appropriate compensation for Russian military personnel who defected to Ukraine with equipment. Consequently, Kuzminov received a reward of $500,000.

Kuzminov was the first Russian serviceman to take advantage of Ukraine’s “I Want to Live” program, which informs Russian soldiers how to safely surrender and avoid death in the war.

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