Russian pilot Maksim Kuzminov, who stole a Russian Mi-8 AMTSH helicopter for GUR (the Main Directorate of Intelligence) in August 2023, lived in Spain under a protection plan and allegedly with a Ukrainian passport.
As an adviser to the Presidentʼs Office Mykhailo Podoliak told in an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mund, despite the fact that the pilot used the protection plan, was forced to avoid contacts and change his life, he was still killed. And that is why Spain should conduct a thorough investigation.
"The Russian mafia is very well established in Spain," noted Podolyak.
According to him, the Spanish investigation should show who should pay for Russiaʼs crime on Spanish soil.
Another Spanish newspaper El Periódico stated that Maksim Kuzminov allegedly lived in Spain with a Ukrainian passport. The document was found with the pilot. There was his photo, but the name and age were changed to 33-year-old Ihor Shevchenko. The newspaper also presented such a photo.
- On September 3, 2023, the film of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (also known as GUR) "Downed Russian pilots" was released, in which a Russian pilot told the details of the special operation "Synitsa". Mi-8 pilot Maksim 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.
- On February 19, Ukrainian intelligence representative Andriy Yusov confirmed the death of Maksim Kuzminov in Spain. "From what we know: he invited his ex to his house, and she found him shot," Yusov informed. The Spanish press wrote that the manʼs body was found on the ramp of a communal garage in the resort province of Alicante, and several people are among the suspects.