The Guardia Civil is probing whether the man shot dead last week in a La Vila Joiosa garage was a Russian pilot who defected last August to surrender to the Ukrainian Army with the helicopter he piloted.
The Ukrainian news outlet Kyiv Post reported on Monday that Andrí Yusov, the representative of Ukraine’s military intelligence (GUR), confirmed the death of the defecting pilot, Maxim Kuzminov, though he did not specify where the body was found.
A GUR source told another Ukrainian outlet, Ukrainska Pravda, that the pilot died in a shooting and that a burned-out car near his home could have been used by the assailants. This aligns with the La Vila Joiosa case, where a car was later found in flames in nearby El Campello, allegedly used by the attackers in their escape.
From the outset, the Guardia Civil treated the La Vila Joiosa incident as a possible hit, since the victim was shot multiple times after entering the parking area of the rented residence and witnesses said the getaway vehicle ran over the victim’s arm as it fled.
Sources familiar with the case told EFE that although the documents found on the deceased in La Vila Joiosa did not match Kuzminov’s profile, suggesting a Ukrainian national aged 33, investigators are examining whether that identity could be false.
According to the GUR source, Kuzminov chose to relocate to Spain rather than stay in Ukraine.
The Russian defection came to light last September when the Ukrainian military intelligence released footage in which the pilot, then 28, explained how he was approached by enemy intelligence and asked to defect to Ukraine in exchange for money and protection.
The video shows Kuzminov landing with his Mi-8 combat helicopter at a Ukrainian base in the Kharkiv region, an area in the east of Ukraine that borders Russia.
At the time, Ukraine’s GUR chief Kirilo Budánov said Kuzminov crossed the border flying low to avoid radar detection, alongside other crew members who were unaware of the pilot’s plans and who died while attempting to flee after the landing.
Budánov also noted that Ukrainian intelligence had managed to extract Kuzminov’s family from Russia.
Kuzminov did not want to go to war
The Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov did not want to go to war and ended up flying his Mi-8 helicopter to Ukraine in a joint operation with Ukrainian intelligence.
The pilot, 28, had graduated from Sizran Aviation School in southern Russia. He was stationed in the Russian Far East, where colleagues described him as a calm person who preferred peaceful transport operations over military missions, according to the Russian Telegram channel Baza.
Friends say Maxim feared dying in war and wanted to leave the Army even before the Ukraine conflict began, but he was reportedly not allowed to leave. He also feared the idea of being captured in Ukraine.
His friends say his girlfriend, who did not know of his plans, stayed in Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East.
According to Baza, Kuzminov’s mother also left Russia before her son defected to Ukraine with his helicopter, which occurred in the summer of 2023.
Once in Ukraine, he told others he did not want to be involved in war crimes and urged other Russian pilots to follow his example.
He said he had contacted Ukrainian military intelligence, who then guaranteed his security, offered new documents, and a compensation of half a million dollars before planning the operation.
Una deserción planeada
Kuzminov made his final decision while flying near the Russia-Ukraine border on August 9. He then guided the helicopter across the border at a very low altitude.
According to Kyiv, during the landing he was wounded but medical assistance was provided in time.
During the video, the pilot and his family were in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian intelligence. Meanwhile, in Russia, the Military Justice Committee opened a treason case against Kuzminov, and the families of his two crew members, who were killed after landing in Ukraine, were urged to pay with their lives for what he did.
A Russian wife of one of the helicopter crew members was quoted by Russian television as saying, if Kuzminov really did what he did, she hoped he would be found and killed. Kuzminov’s crew mates were posthumously decorated by Russian authorities.