WASHINGTON, November 11. /TASS/. Pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who defected from Russia and flew a helicopter to Ukraine in 2023 and was found dead in February 2024, is buried in an unmarked grave in Spain, CBS reported, citing sources.

According to the US TV channel, images of a man at an air show who looked like Kuzminov surfaced on social media in the summer. Later, reporters with the network’s 60 Minutes TV show learned that the man was likely a Ukrainian intelligence officer "wearing an elaborate disguise, including a mask made to look nearly identical to the Russian defector." This was part of Kiev’s misinformation campaign, CBS surmised, its attempt to make "the world think Kuzminov had survived the assassination attempt and was still working for Ukraine." However, "the real Kuzminov was buried in an unmarked grave in southern Spain," the TV channel’s sources insist.

On February 19, Spanish news agency EFE confirmed, citing sources close to the investigation, that Kuzminov had died in Villajoyosa, a Spanish seaside town with a large contingent of Russians and Ukrainians living there. His death was also confirmed by the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. However, the kingdom in the Pyrenees did not identify the dead person as Kuzminov. A body "riddled" with gunshot wounds was reportedly found, and Spanish law enforcement officers did not rule out that the man might have had forged papers on him.