The lifeless body of a Russian pilot who had accused Russia of committing “genocide” in Ukraine has reportedly been found in an underground garage in southern Spain riddled with bullets.
The body found on a car park ramp on February 13 is reportedly Maksim Kuzminov, the Mi-8 helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine last year, Spanish EFE news agency wrote on Monday.
Spanish reports have claimed the man had been the victim of a gangland-style assassination, with unknown gunmen firing 12 shots at him.
The grim discovery was made in the town of Villajoyosa, a 30-minute drive away from the Spanish city of Alicante popular with British tourists and expats.
Ukraine’s military intelligence, the GUR, confirmed Mr Kuzminov had died in Spain, although stopped short of saying how and who could be responsible for it.
The spokesperson for the GUR, Andriy Yusov, told Interfax-Ukraine: “We can confirm the fact of his death.”
The Ukrainska Pravda news outlet also reported a GUR source, who claimed the Russian defector had been found by his former girlfriend.
The insider claimed: “He decided to move to Spain instead of being here [in Ukraine]. From what we know: he invited his ex to his place and was found shot dead.”
Spanish newspaper La Informacion, which first reported the shooting, said investigators were looking for two suspects who had escaped the scene in a vehicle. A burnt-out car was discovered in the nearby town of El Campello.
The Mediterranean country’s police have so far confirmed a gunshot victim had been found in the town, which counts around 33,000 residents, but did not confirm their identity.
Some Russian commentators have claimed the Ukrainian intelligence services have planted reports regarding Mr Kuzminov to fake his death and give him a clean slate, several months after he defected. Russian state news agency TASS claimed instead the man could have been killed by Ukraine, as “an inconvenient witness”.
Officers from Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency had previously said on Russian state television they had received the order for Mr Kuzminov’s execution, Sky News reported.
Reports about the killing of Mr Kuzminov come just days after Vladimir Putin’s main political opponent, Alexei Navalny, died in prison last Friday.
Mr Kuzminov, a helicopter pilot, was flying between two Russian air bases last August when he instead landed in Ukraine’s Kharkiv as part of a secret operation after the GUR convinced him to defect. The two other members of the crew died in unclear circumstances.
In an interview broadcast by Ukraine’s authorities at the time, Mr Kuzminov said: “I contacted representatives of Ukrainian intelligence, explained my situation, to which they offered this option: ‘Come on, we guarantee your safety, guarantee new documents, guarantee monetary compensation, a reward’.”
In a separate documentary, the pilot lashed out at the war as he said: “I am very offended by what is happening now [in Ukraine]. Murder, tears, blood. Just people killing each other. What is happening now is just genocide of the Ukrainian people, both Ukrainian and Russian.”
