The Spanish press reported the details of the murder of the Russian pilot Maksym Kuzminov, who in August 2023 stole a Russian Mi-8 AMTSH helicopter for GUR.
The newspaper El País writes that the body of a man with a Ukrainian passport was found on February 13 on the ramp of a communal garage in the resort city of Alicante. He was shot and run over in his car. The police have not officially named the deceased, but newspaper sources say that it is Kuzminov.
The Europa Press agency adds that the deceasedʼs documents may be forged, law enforcement officers have started an additional check.
El Español, citing sources involved in the investigation, reports on several suspects. Their number is not mentioned, they only note that they watched Kuzminov for a long time, studied his daily routine and got access to the cameras in the garage where he parked. Sources called the perpetrators of the murder specialists.
On February 19, Ukrainian intelligence representative Andriy Yusov confirmed the death of Maksym Kuzminov in Spain.
"From what we know: he invited his ex to his place and then she found him shot," Yusov said.
He did not give more details. Today, the director of Russiaʼs Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin said that Kuzminov was a "moral corpse" since he planned his "dirty and terrible crime."
- On September 3, 2023, the film of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (also known as GUR) "The downed pilots of Russia" was released, in which the Russian pilot told the details of the special operation "Synitsa". Mi-8 pilot Maksym Kuzminov told how he decided to go over to the side of Ukraine and stole the helicopter. It became known about the special operation itself on August 23. The head of military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov said at the time that there were two more people on board. When they realized where they sat down, they tried to escape and were killed.