The Kremlin said on Tuesday it had no information about Kuzminov’s death.
A pilot who defected to Ukraine on a military helicopter last week and was reportedly shot dead in Spain was a “moral corpse,” Russia’s spy chief said on Tuesday.
Maxim Kuzminov flew his Mi-8 helicopter in August in a brazen move to express his opposition to Russia’s military offensive.
Spanish media reported that Kuzminov was found shot dead last week in the southern town of Villajoyosa, where he moved after being granted Ukrainian citizenship after defecting.
A spokesman for Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Service later confirmed Kuzminov’s death, but gave no further details, Ukrainian media reported.
“This traitor and criminal became a moral corpse the moment he planned his dirty and horrific crimes,” the Russian state news agency quoted Sergey Naryshkin, head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, as saying on Tuesday.
He did not confirm or deny any involvement by Russia in the former pilot’s death.
In October, Russian state television reported that Russia’s GRU intelligence agency had “received orders” to eliminate Kuzminov.
“It’s only a matter of time,” a reporter for Russia’s “Pervi Kanal” said in a television report after speaking with Russian special forces who said they were hunting “traitors.”
The Kremlin said on Tuesday it had no information about Kuzminov’s death.
Kuzminov served in the 319th Independent Helicopter Regiment stationed in Primorsky Krai in Russia’s Far East.
Two comrades on board the helicopter were unaware of his plans and were killed while trying to escape after the helicopter landed in Ukraine.
Kiev’s intelligence agency said the original mission had been planned for more than six months.
Spanish authorities said they were investigating the death of a man found last week with multiple gunshot wounds but could not confirm his identity.
“Last Tuesday, a person was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in Villajoyosa (Alicante),” a Spanish interior ministry spokesman told AFP.
“During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that the identity used by this individual may be false. The National Guard is attempting to confirm his identity.”
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