Russian deserter Maxim Kuzminov killed in Spain amid mystery over assassins
Former Russian army captain Maxim Kuzminov, who fled to Ukraine and was later rewarded by Kyiv, was shot dead in a Villajoyosa underground garage in February 2024, with Russian officials branding him a traitor and the perpetrators still unidentified.
Captain Maxim Kuzminov, a Russian officer, defected in August 2023 by diverting a supply helicopter to Ukraine and surrendering to Kyiv's military intelligence, later receiving a $500,000 reward and a forged passport. Ignoring advice to stay in Ukraine, he bought a Mercedes and settled in Villajoyosa, a coastal town with both Ukrainian and Russian communities, where he was seen frequenting bars and contacting his former girlfriend.
On the afternoon of 13 February 2024, two men in a stolen white car waited in the underground garage of his housing complex, opened fire as he approached the elevator, and shot him six times before running him over with their vehicle; the attack was captured on security cameras. Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergey Naryshkin called him a "traitor and criminal," and former president Dmitry Medvedev added that he received a "dog's death." The Spanish Civil Guard's probe has yielded only vague witness testimony, Makarov ammunition casings, and a burned getaway car, leaving the identity of the shooters and their sponsors unresolved.
Why it matters
The killing highlights the reach of Russian retaliation against defectors and raises questions about covert operations on foreign soil.
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