MOSCOW, February 22 The Spanish authorities did not know that that defector from the Russian Federation Maxim Kuzminov was in the country, said Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles.
“He came freely and the government did not know that this person was here in Spain,” Robles said, as quoted by the EFE agency.
Earlier, the Pais newspaper, citing government sources, reported that the Spanish intelligence services were not officially informed that a defector from the Russian Federation, Maxim Kuzminov, came to the province of Alicante; he was not under the protection of the authorities.
On Monday, media reported that a body, presumably that of Kuzminov, had been found in the municipality of Villajoyos in Spain. A representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine confirmed his death to RBC-Ukraine. Later, Spanish police also confirmed Kuzminov's death to the New York Times. The Efe agency wrote, citing the Spanish Civil Guard, that Kuzminov received six gunshot wounds, and then a car drove over his body.
The press service of the Spanish Civil Guard previously reported that the investigation into the murder, of which Kuzminov could have become a victim, is classified, and the details will be reported to the authorities of another country.
Ukrainian media and Telegram channels previously claimed that the Russian pilot, at the instigation of Ukrainian intelligence, hijacked an Mi-8 helicopter from Kursk and flew it to Ukraine. Kuzminov himself, during a press conference in Ukraine in September 2023, stated that he was subscribed to the public pages of Ukrainian intelligence on Telegram, and contacts for communication were indicated under the posts. He contacted the Ukrainian side and began correspondence.
According to him, the operation was discussed for about six months. As Kuzminov stated, on the day he hijacked the helicopter, two crew members were with him; they were unarmed and could not resist. Kuzminov claims that the crew members allegedly “began to be afraid,” “behaved a little aggressively,” and “ran out of the helicopter towards the border.” According to Kuzminov, their further fate is unknown to him, but “as follows from the media, it is possible that they were liquidated.”