Fatal mistake

Call from ex led murderer to murdered pilot

Maxim Kuzminov's longing for a woman was his undoing.(Bild: AP)

A fatal mistake made out of love is said to have cost Russian defector and helicopter pilot Maxim Kuzminov his life. The Russian was known to have gone into hiding in Spain, but was missing his ex-girlfriend there. When he called her in Russia, this is said to have led his murderers on the trail of the deserter who had fallen out of favor with the Kremlin.

Those who oppose the Russian regime often have a shortened life expectancy - this also applies to Russians who have fled abroad. When Kuzminov, an opponent of the war, fled across the border to Ukraine last summer in a fully equipped Mi-8 army helicopter, he was certainly well aware that he was in danger as a "traitor" to his country.

A Russian Mi-8 army helicopter(Bild: AFP)

Living in Spain under a different identity
After his escape, the 33-year-old went into hiding in Spain - where he lived under a different name and with a Ukrainian passport to avoid being tracked down by the Russian secret service. But his longing for his ex-girlfriend apparently made him careless: He called his ex-girlfriend, who lives in the city of Vladivostok, to ask her to move in with him.

This call is said to have enabled the Russian secret service to track down the deserter. "We know that he invited his ex to move in with him, and then he was found dead," said intelligence sources in Ukraine. "This call could have been intercepted by Russian intelligence services," Spanish media reported.

Ex-girlfriend finally found body 
His ex-girlfriend had accepted the invitation - and eventually found Kuzminov riddled with bullets on the ramp of a garage in the town of La Villajoyosa near Alicante.

Russian ammunition apparently used in the attack
Investigators recently revealed that Russian ammunition was used in the attack on the pilot. This could be seen as a signal to other opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin: Even after fleeing abroad, you are not safe from the Russian terror regime.