DIU confirms death of a pilot who previously hijacked a Russian military helicopter for AFU: details

Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov was found dead in Spain. Last year, he was the one who hijacked the Russian Mi-8 helicopter to Ukraine.

This information was reported by the department's representative Andrii Yusov in a comment to OBOZ.UA. On Monday, February 19, it first appeared in the Spanish media.

"The fact of death has been established. We can confirm this information," the intelligence representative said in response to rumors of Kuzminov's death, adding that the pilot had left for Spain of his own free will.

As a reminder, Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov hijacked a Mi-8 helicopter from Russian territory and surrended to the DIU during the Operation Synytsia (Titmouse) led by Ukrainian intelligence on August 9, 2023.

Taking off from the Kursk airport in the Kharkiv region, about 20 kilometers from the border, he flew at an extremely low altitude of 5-10 meters in radio silence and then landed in a place indicated by Ukrainian intelligence.

The DIU said that the work on the operation lasted for six months. The intelligence officers received the Russian helicopter, as well as parts for Su-27 and Su-30SM fighters that it was carrying. Kuzminov, in turn, according to our sources in the DIU, received a reward of 500 thousand euros.

Earlier, the head of the DIU Kyrylo Budanov called the landing of the Russian Mi-8 at the airfield in the Kharkiv region one of the most successful special operations of the department in the history of Ukraine. In August, Budanov said that the helicopter pilot intended to stay in our country.

Earlier, it became known that Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who had cooperated with the Ukrainian Defense Forces, was allegedly killed in Spain on February 13. It was reported that the former Russian serviceman was shot 12 times and then run over with his own car.

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