- Russian pilot Maksym Kuzminov defected to Ukraine with a Mi-8 AMTSh helicopter last month.
- Kuzminov explained how he crossed into Ukraine in a video shared by Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence.
- He flew 32 feet in the air with his transponder off to prevent being identified, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The pilot who managed a first-of-its-kind defection from Russia to Ukraine flew 32 feet in the air with his transponder off to prevent being identified, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
The defection was initially revealed in late August, however extra information about the Russian pilot who flew a Mi-8 helicopter to Ukraine were launched by Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence in a video published on Sunday.
The August 9 objective was 6 months in the making, according to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, which stated the stunt was managed by Maksym Kuzminov, previously a captain in Russia’s 319th different helicopter program.
In an interview released by Ukrainian authorities, Kuzminov stated he “flew at very low elevation in radio silence mode.
” Nobody understood what was incorrect with me,” Kuzminov stated of his flight into Ukraine.
Kuzminov stated his helicopter was targeted by shooting originating from an uncertain instructions when he crossed into Ukraine, the Journal reported.
2 other team members were on board who were not familiar with the defection and when they attempted to leave they were “removed,” the head of Ukraine’s intelligence Kyrylo Budanov informed Radio Free Europe in August.
At the end of 2022, Kuzminov, 28, connected to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, boosting the prepare for him to run away Russia with the helicopter, the Journal reported. Kuzminov interacted with Ukrainian defense authorities through the encrypted messaging app Telegram and created a strategy to fly the taken Russian helicopter into Ukraine.
Kuzminov’s moms and dads were secured of Russia prior to he defected.
Ukraine has looked for to incentivize Russian soldiers to flaw given that Russia released its major intrusion in February 2022. The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed a law in 2015 courting demoralized Russian soldiers and offering financial benefits to Russians who defected with their devices
Defecting with a big piece of military devices, like a helicopter, would make him a $500,000 payment from the Ukrainian federal government and a warranty of security. Ukraine’s Armed force Intelligence representative Andrii Yusova stated Kuzminov will get his complete settlement for the helicopter, the Kyiv Independent reported today.
In the video, Kuzminov motivated other pilots to flaw and called Russia’s unprovoked war versus Ukraine which started in February of 2022 a “criminal offense.”