The World Briefly
February 21, 2024Nowhere Is Safe
Russia
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Ukrainian and Spanish intelligence officials confirmed this week that a former Russian pilot, who had defected to Ukraine last year, was found shot dead in southern Spain, a death that came a few days after Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in a Russian prison, CBS News reported.
Last week, authorities in the Spanish coastal town of Villajoyosa announced they were investigating the death of an unknown person with multiple gunshot wounds.
On Monday, Ukrainian intelligence said the body belonged to former Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, but did not provide further details. Spanish officials told the BBC that Kuzminov was living under a false identity.
Kuzminov gained attention in August following a brazen operation where he flew a Mi-8 helicopter into eastern Ukraine and defected. The former pilot had reportedly contacted Ukraine’s secret service to inform them of his decision to defect.
Two fellow helicopter servicemen, unaware of Kuzminov’s intentions, were shot dead when they fled toward the border after landing. Kuzminov, wounded in the leg, accused Russian forces of the killings.
In a September press conference, he cited opposition to Russia’s war on Ukraine as his reason to defect. He also claimed Ukraine offered him $500,000, new documents and protection for his family.
On Tuesday, Russian spy chief Sergei Naryshkin called the late pilot a “moral corpse,” while denouncing his defection as a “dirty and terrible crime.” He did not confirm nor deny Russian involvement in the Kuzminov’s death.
Even so, Russian state media last year quoted a Russian intelligence officer suggesting that the former pilot will not live “long enough to face a trial.”
Kuzminov’s death comes less than a week after Russian popular opposition leader Navalny died while serving a prison sentence at a remote Arctic penal colony.
Russian prison officials alleged that he suffered from “sudden death syndrome,” but critics blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s demise.
Kuzminov and Navalny join a number of dissident figures opposing Putin’s regime who have been assaulted or killed abroad, or forced to flee Russia in fear of their safety, according to World Politics Review.
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