22 February 2024 , 12:07
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The Russian defector gunned down in Spain was murdered by Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian intelligence has claimed.
Former helicopter pilot Maxim Kuzminov was pretending to be a Ukrainian called Igor Shevchenko when he was shot to death on the Costa Blanca after being branded a traitor by Moscow. It has emerged the getaway car his killers used had been stolen in a neighbouring Spanish province. The Ukrainian General Directorate of Intelligence confirmed to the BBC that the body found in Spain is that of Kuzminov.
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, said: " Undoubtedly, he would have been protected here. And I don't think they would have behaved as shamefully here as they did in Spain." Spanish authorities are yet to confirm Russian involvement but have vowed a "strong response" if it's confirmed. Spanish government spokesperson Pilar Alegría said: “We must let the Civil Guard do their job and the investigation progress," reports El Pais. But insider sources confirmed to the paper it is a “very serious” matter. and if the involvement of the Russian authorities is confirmed, Spain will give a “strong response.”
Reports suggest Kuzminov was living under a Ukrainian alias (Maksim Kuzminov/east2west news)In its only official statement so far on the crime, a Civil Guard spokesman in Alicante said on Monday after reports emerged the dead man was Kuzminov: “On Tuesday last week, a man appeared dead in Villajoyosa with several gunshot wounds.
“In the course of the investigation that is being carried out, it has been learned that the identity that person was using could be false and belong to another person. The Civil Guard is still trying to confirm this.”
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The police force confirmed this morning: “This is all we are saying officially about this crime at this stage.”
A Kremlin-run hit squad has been linked to last Tuesday’s assassination at an underground garage in the town of Villajoyosa a 10-minute drive from Benidorm. It was reported yesterday that Russian-made ammunition was used in the savage hit.
The scene where the defector was gunned down (MASH / East2west news)Kuzminov was fighting with the Russian army in Ukraine before he decided to flee, taking a military helicopter and flying away from the front lines last year. Kuzminov defected to Ukraine in a Mi-8 army helicopter with the help of Ukrainian intelligence.
Spanish police are still insisting they cannot officially confirm the victim was 28-year-old Kuzminov, because they are waiting on fingerprint, DNA or dental record proof they hope to obtain through Interpol. Reports suggest he was tracked down through a call to an ex-girlfriend inviting her to Spain.
Spanish state news agency Efe that the body had been shot half a dozen times and then been run over. Reports also said that a burning car, possibly used in the attack, was found near the area but this was not confirmed.
Police have confirmed they are working on the theory the dead man, who was living in one of the flats above the underground car park where he was targeted, was using a false identity which initially led investigators to believe he was a 33-year-old Ukrainian national.
Today Catalan newspaper El Periodico published the passport it said Ukrainian authorities are thought to have given Kuzminov after he fled his homeland last August in a stolen Mi-8 armoured helicopter and landed it in a Ukrainian military airfield.
The Ukrainian ID, described as an authentic document, included a photo of Kuzminov but was issued in the name Ihor Shevchenko on September 22, 2023. It said he had been born in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk on September 15 1990, making him five years older than he really was.