In Ukraine, a trial has begun against a battalion commander and an artillery soldier from the Air Assault Forces who participated in the operation to seize a russian Mi-8 helicopter and considered the shooting of a russian pilot and flight engineer during that operation to be unlawful.
It was reported by the defense attorney for the accused soldiers, Larysa Kryvoruchko, according to the Ukrainian News agency.
According to her, this case concerns a defected russian Mi-8 helicopter. The lawyer explained that in 2023, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense organized and carried out a special operation to recruit russian pilots and fly the Mi-8 helicopter to territory controlled by Ukraine.
"Despite the successful conduct of the operation, one of the Ukrainian Armed Forces commanders, contrary to orders from the higher military leadership, attempted to thwart its completion and gave the order to destroy the MI-8 helicopter. One pilot (a defector) was shot and died at the scene; the flight engineer (a defector) was shot and died at the scene. These actions caused outrage among some Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel, who considered the attempt to shoot down the helicopter and the executed individuals to be illegal and capable of derailing a critical military special operation during wartime," the lawyer wrote.
She noted that the commander who gave the order to destroy the MI-8 despite a direct prohibition from senior leadership was subsequently promoted and transferred to the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, while the servicemen who expressed disagreement with such actions and questioned the legality of the order found themselves in pretrial detention and on trial.
"This raises serious questions about the true reasons for the criminal prosecution and the objectivity of the investigation," the lawyer added.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the crew of the Mi-8 helicopter did not know that their commander had agreed with the Defense Intelligence on a flight to Ukraine, but by the time they found out, it was already too late. The Defense Ministry’s Defense Intelligence lured a russian Mi-8 military helicopter, which landed at a Ukrainian airfield.
Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov visited bars in Spain popular among russian and Ukrainian clientele, where he spent the funds he received for transferring the Mi-8 helicopter to Ukraine. He also invited his ex-girlfriend, who lives in the aggressor state of russia, to visit him. This could have been the reason for his exposure and murder. On February 19, 2024, the Spanish publication Il Corrispondente reported on the murder of russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov.
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