Russian pilot’s corpse that infected Ukraine discovered inside a bullet-riddled garage in Spain

According to reports from Ukrainian and Spanish media on Monday, a Russian pilot who fled to Ukraine with his helicopter last year was discovered dead in an underground garage in Spain last week, with gunshots all over his corpse.

According to Spanish national news agency EFE, pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who landed in Ukraine with his Mi-8 helicopter in August of last year, was the owner of the corpse discovered on February 13 in the town of Villajoyosa, close to Alicante in southern Spain. It said that he had been residing in Spain using a fictitious identity and a Ukrainian passport.

Although Kuzminov’s death in Spain was verified to Reuters by a representative of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence, the reason of Kuzminov’s death was not disclosed. It was also claimed by the Ukrainian publication Ukrainska Pravda that he had been shot to death.

Although they have not yet revealed the victim’s identify, Spanish police have confirmed that a shooting victim’s corpse was discovered in the town. According to a Reuters source, the victim could have been living under a false name, according to the Guardia Civil police organization in Spain.

When the incident was originally reported, detectives were looking for two suspects, according to Spain’s La Informacion newspaper, who escaped in a car that was later discovered burned out in a neighboring town.

Last year, Kuzminov’s defection to Ukraine was heralded as a significant victory for Kyiv. At the time, the GUR claimed that it had seduced him into leaving.