He fled the Ukrainian front aboard a combat helicopter of his army in August 2023. Russian Maxim Kouzminov, who has since taken refuge in Spain, was found dead riddled with bullets last week, Guardia sources confirmed this
Tuesday Civil
at the Spanish media El País.
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.
The death of Maxim Kuzminov was also confirmed by Ukrainian intelligence to the BBC and the Ukrainian media Kyiv Post.
According to El País, he held false papers.
Information confirmed by the Spanish press agency EFE, which specifies that the murder took place on February 13 in a parking lot.
The documents found on the victim's body were therefore not those of Maxim Kouzminov, which initially cast doubt among investigators on the identity of the victim.
Agreement with Ukraine
Maxim Kouzminov left the Ukrainian front from the Kharkiv region (eastern Ukraine) using a Mi-8 helicopter.
Ukrainian intelligence services published a video last September explaining that this operation had been planned in advance.
Maxim Kouzminov himself testified openly, explaining that he was opposed to the war led by his country in Ukraine.
He was then offered protection and new papers upon his arrival in Ukraine, as well as money.
“I do not want to be complicit in Russian crimes,” declared Maxim Kuzminov in a documentary broadcast by the Ukrainian intelligence services.
According to the Kyiv Post, this operation allowed Ukrainian intelligence to recover Russian documents as well as equipment.
Maxim Kouzminov took off from the Russian region of Kursk before joining that of Kharkiv instead of heading towards another air base.
Two other Russian soldiers - unaware of the operation - were on board the helicopter and were killed upon arrival.
To avoid being spotted by radar, Maxim Kouzminov had flown at very low altitude, “in radio silence mode”.
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Upon the announcement of the death of this Russian deserter, the director of Russian foreign intelligence Sergei Naryshkin described Maxim Kuzminov as a “traitor and criminal” who had “already become a moral corpse when he planned his despicable and terrible crime”. according to the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
“In Russia, we often say: we either talk well about the dead, or we don't talk at all,” he added.
Pro-Kremlin Russian media accuse the pilot of shooting down the two men he was with on board the helicopter.
In a report in October, Russian state television said that the special services had been tasked with finding and punishing the pilot.
Russia has repeatedly rejected accusations of assassinations or attempted assassinations of Kremlin adversaries or defectors, both within and outside its borders.