{"id":15826,"date":"2024-02-21T07:47:04","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T07:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/21\/russian-pilot-who-defected-to-ukraine-is-dead-ukraines-defense-intelligence\/"},"modified":"2024-02-21T07:47:04","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T07:47:04","slug":"russian-pilot-who-defected-to-ukraine-is-dead-ukraines-defense-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2024\/02\/21\/russian-pilot-who-defected-to-ukraine-is-dead-ukraines-defense-intelligence\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine is dead: Ukraine\u2019s Defense Intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Maxim Kuzminov, a Russian pilot who dramatically defected to Ukraine by flying his helicopter across the border, is dead, according to Ukraine\u2019s Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR). <\/p>\n

Initially, the Civil Guard said the victim was a 33-year-old Ukrainian but later said the identity of the body was still to be determined and part of an investigation, which had been sealed by a judge. <\/p>\n

The remains of the man shot inside the garage are thought to still be in Alicante province under the supervision of forensic examiners. <\/p>\n

The shooting took place in a neighborhood where some Russian and Ukrainian expatriates have settled since the war began, according to the Villajoyosa city hall press office. <\/p>\n

Asked Tuesday whether Russia had any knowledge of the death, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had no information on the matter. <\/p>\n

Russian Foreign Intelligence Director Sergey Naryshkin would also not comment directly on Kuzminov\u2019s death, but told reporters the defector had become \u201ca moral corpse the moment he began planning his dirty and terrible crime,\u201d Russia\u2019s RIA Novosti reported. <\/p>\n

Shortly after Kuzminov\u2019s defection, Russian TV aired a segment about him on the \u201cVesti Nedeli\u201d\u00a0program, which carried a clear threat to the defector\u2019s life. In the program, a reporter said that Russia\u2019s own military intelligence agency had already received their order with regard to Kuzminov, adding that, \u201cits fulfillment is only a matter of time.\u201d <\/p>\n

Later in the segment, a man in a military uniform, whose face is shown covered, says: \u201cWe can\u2019t let such a thing go, we will punish him for such actions.\u201d <\/p>\n

The\u00a0Freedom\u00a0for\u00a0Russia\u00a0Legion \u2013 a group associated with Ukraine\u2019s GUR made up of Russian nationals fighting for Ukraine \u2013 expressed their condolences to family and friends of Kuzminov, saying he was a \u201creal warrior and honest man.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cUkraine fulfilled all its obligations to Maxim, he received the promised monetary reward for the delivered equipment and had the opportunity to choose to stay in Ukraine and live in peace, continue serving in one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, or go to the EU,\u201d the Legion said in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u2018Let\u2019s give it a try\u2019<\/h2>\n

Kuzminov defected in August after Kyiv got his family out of Russia undetected, the head of the GUR, Kyrolo Budanov, told Radio Liberty last year. Budanov said it was the first successful operation of its kind. <\/p>\n

When Kuzminov flew into Ukraine, the two other Russian service members on board the Mi-8 helicopter with him did not know what was happening. The pair were killed while trying to escape after they realized they had landed in Ukraine. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe would prefer (to take) them alive, but it is what it is,\u201d Budanov said at the time. <\/p>\n

In an interview published by the GUR\u00a0in September, Kuzminov recounted the defection. He told reporters he fled Russia because he was opposed to the war. <\/p>\n

\u201cI contacted representatives of Ukrainian intelligence, explained my situation, to which they offered this option: \u2018Come on, we guarantee your safety, guarantee new documents, guarantee monetary compensation, a reward,\u2019\u201d the pilot said. <\/p>\n

His defection seemingly came last minute during a flight near the border. <\/p>\n

After relaying his location, he said \u201clet\u2019s give it a try, I\u2019m not that far away.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cHaving made a final decision, I flew at an extremely low altitude in radio silence mode. No one understood what was going on with me at all,\u201d Kuzminov said. <\/p>\n\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maxim Kuzminov, a Russian pilot who dramatically defected to Ukraine by flying his helicopter across the border, is dead, according to Ukraine\u2019s Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR). Initially, the Civil Guard said the victim was a 33-year-old Ukrainian but later said the identity of the body was still to be determined and part of an investigation, <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":15827,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-15826","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}