The defecting Russian military helicopter pilot gunned down in Spain last week may have been tracked down due to his debauched lifestyle, reports claim.
Details of The Case
Captain Maksim Kuzminov, 28, was found riddled with bullets in an underground car park in Villajoyosa near Alicante on February 13 after deserting Russia last year in a stolen Mi-8 helicopter and landing in Ukraine.
Spanish police are now investigating whether the Russian mafia and intelligence services carried out a dramatic assassination after learning of his location because of his alleged use of drugs, solicitation of prostitutes and street brawling.
How he Was Killed
The pilot, who was named and awarded $500,000 (£393,000) by Ukraine after defecting in August, was found dead in the carpark of a residential complex earlier this month, his attackers allegedly escaping in his car after running him over.
As it is
The killing has put fear through other Russian defectors who have fled to Spain, local media has reported.
Russian state media claimed Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council had advised Kuzminov to stay in Ukraine, where they could protect him.
Before His Shock Defection
The Russian pilot had been sentenced to death for ‘treason’ in Russia after his shock defection, which is believed to have been the conclusion of a delicate six-month operation orchestrated by Ukraine.
Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia’s SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service and successor to the KGB) said on Tuesday: ‘This traitor and criminal became a moral corpse at the very moment when he planned his dirty and terrible crime.’
There Are Fears in Spain For Defectors
A Kremlin hit squad is now feared to be on the loose in Spain. Police sources told The Sun that the ammunition used to kill him was Russian and the move is believed to be a ‘calling card’, and it is feared he may have been killed by a Kremlin hit squad based in Costa Blanca.
Rumours Flying Around
A report claims the same hit team may also be responsible for the 2022 death of multimillionaire Sergey Protosenya, 55, who was found hanged after allegedly killing his wife and teenage daughter with an axe as they slept in Costa Rica.
Intelligence experts also believe the Russian Embassy in Spain has stayed on the sidelines to avoid implication, El Pais reported.
Spain has been careful not to pin the killing on Russia, but diplomatic sources suggest there will be a ‘strong response’ if investigations implicate the Kremlin.
He may have given away his location to hitmen with a phonecall inviting his ex-girlfriend to visit him in Alicante, was previously revealed.
The Alleged Rumours Flying Around
Living under a new identity in Spain – and enriched by the Ukrainians after his defection – he had set about building a new life for himself free from the horrors of war.
But he is believed to have made a fatal mistake in contacting a former flame and inviting her to his new address.
‘We know he had invited an ex-girlfriend to Spain and afterwards he was found dead. That call could have been intercepted by Russian secret services,’ Spanish media reported.
