Ukraine rewards defected Russian pilot with half of 1,000,000 dollars

Maxim Kuzminov, the Russian pilot who defected and landed his helicopter in Ukraine, will acquire the equal of $500,000 in hryvnias, the Ukrainian currency, the Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman announced Tuesday.

The Ukrainian Parliament approved in April 2022 a law that gives up to one million greenbacks to the ones Russian squaddies who control to transfer equipment and guns to Ukraine. The praise, of direction, relies upon on the value of the cloth they manage to deliver to Ukrainian soil.

The 28-yr-vintage pilot landed his fully intact Mi-eight helicopter at an airfield in Ukraine while it defected. The fee of this kind of ships tiers between 8 and 9 million greenbacks, a awesome deal for the Ukrainian forces. Later, in a press conference, he assured that he had left the Russian ranks due to the fact he did no longer need to contribute to the crimes dedicated through the Russian forces in the neighboring usa, which he considers “a top notch us of a.”

The defection changed into the end result of a lengthy HUR operation to deliver the Mi-eight helicopter and its pilot to Ukraine. According to Kuzminov’s account, his parents supported his plans to defect and joined him in Ukraine.

The tale become featured within the documentary ‘Russian Pilots Down’, which aired on Ukrainian television at the evening of September three. The film discovered how the landing became planned and finished, and Kuzminov referred to as on different Russian pilots to comply with his example.

“If you do what I did, these types of matters, you received’t regret it in any respect. You will have without a doubt the whole lot for the rest of your life,” says Kuzminov, who provided treasured proof about the Russian army’s aviation, its communication system and airfield network. “When Ukraine officially calls at the Russians to come over to our side collectively with the team, it isn't always propaganda. It’s no longer a lie. It is the fact,” introduced Andriy Yusov, command of the Intelligence Services of the Ministry of Defense.