Madrid convinced Moscow sponsored killing of Russian deserter pilot who flew into Ukraine – Liberation

According to Spanish military intelligence cited by the daily “El Pais”, assassins in the pay of Russia killed Maxim Kozminov, a Russian soldier on his way to Ukraine, on February 13. If these are proven to be “extremely serious” facts, Spain will give a “determined response”.

After the spectacular abandonment operation of Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who landed his M-8 helicopter near Kharkiv in August 2023, the man appeared in the Ukrainian media to claim resistance to Vladimir Putin’s aggression policy. He has since disappeared from the radar. In fact he settled on the Spanish Mediterranean coast under a false Ukrainian identity, where a commando tracked him down and shot him dead on February 13.

Moscow vowed to avenge this insult, especially since the two co-pilots, unaware of Kuzminov’s intentions, were killed after denying fault. He was decorated posthumously. Cited by the daily, for the Spanish secret services L pass, Moscow’s involvement is beyond doubt. Even if the government is still cautious. Let the Civil Guard do it (Responsible for file) And the investigation proceeds. a spokesman said on Tuesday.

Modus operandi of hired killers

This is currently limited to a few components. The victim was surprised in the underground garage of her residence, as she was getting out of her car. Two men took his vehicle and shot him before driving over his body. The car was found burnt about twenty kilometers away. The mode of operation is that of hired assassins, who may come from abroad and leave as soon as their work is done.

Details about the rebel pilot’s secret life are slowly revealed. They settled in Villajoyosa, a seaside town in the province of Alicante bordering Benidorm, a bastion of mass tourism. The Costa Blanca coast is home to many Eastern European residents. Of the 36,000 inhabitants, Villajoyosa has 1,200 Ukrainians and 800 Russians. Al Pace.

A phone call to her ex-fiancé

Was such an environment chosen to hide intelligence? Maxim Kuzminov, protected even by false identification, was more likely to be recognized by immigrants from Russia or Ukraine than by Spaniards, among whom his notoriety was less. If a neighborhood survey indicated that he avoided bars and supermarkets run by foreigners. Ukrainian site Ukrainska Pravda Another piece of information provided: the fugitive may have invited his ex-fiancée, who remained in Russia, to join him in Spain. An intercepted telephone call could thus put the Moscow services on the desert road.

Diplomatic sources consulted by El PaÃs describe the action as “very serious”, If Russian responsibility was confirmed, and provoke a “determined response” from the government. Kuzminov’s death would in fact be the first elimination of an enemy of the Kremlin on Spanish territory. But such operations have already taken place in Europe or the Middle East, organized by a division of the Russian military intelligence service GRU. The most famous is the 2006 poisoning of dissident Alexander Litvinenko in London. Two years earlier, it was former Chechen president Zelimkhan Indarbiev who was killed in a bomb attack in Doha, Qatar.