Spanish Court Closes Case on Murder of Defector Pilot Amid Unresolved Suspects | World | london-news-net.preview-domain.com

Spanish Court Closes Case on Murder of Defector Pilot Amid Unresolved Suspects

December 16, 2025

Spanish Court Closes Case on Murder of Defector Pilot Amid Unresolved Suspects

A Spanish court has put the investigation into the murder of a Russian military pilot who defected to Ukraine on hold indefinitely, according to a statement from Spain’s judicial authorities on Wednesday.

The investigation was stopped due to the lack of identified suspects, with police reportedly unable to determine who was responsible for the murder or who orchestrated it.

Maxim Kuzminov, a 28-year-old pilot, flew an Mi-8 helicopter from the Kursk region of Russia to Ukraine on August 9, 2023, disillusioned by his country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Later, he relocated to Spain, purchasing an apartment in the coastal town of Villajoyosa, located near Alicante.

On February 13, 2024, he was fatally shot in a residential parking garage.

A source familiar with the investigation, as reported by 60 Minutes, suggested that the assassination might have been linked to a former KGB officer and a relative affiliated with the Russian police, holding the rank of colonel.

Senior officials within the Spanish police told The New York Times that the operation displayed similarities to previous Russian attacks outside the country, such as the 2019 assassination of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin by FSB agent Vadim Krasikov and the 2018 poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury by operatives from Russia’s military intelligence.

Russia has consistently denied allegations of carrying out or attempting to carry out assassinations of dissenters or defectors, both within its borders and internationally.

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