Maxim Kuzminov, a Russian who deserted aboard a military helicopter, was assassinated in Spain. The identity of the person found dead in Alicante (southeast of Spain) had long been unclear, before the identity of Maxim Kouzminov was confirmed by fingerprints.
His corpse was found riddled with bullets. He fled the Ukrainian front aboard a combat helicopter of his army in August 2023. Russian media accuse the pilot of shooting down the two men he was with on board the helicopter. Russia has repeatedly rejected accusations of assassinations or attempted assassinations of Kremlin adversaries.