MADRID, February 21. /TASS/. Pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who hijacked a Russian military helicopter in 2023 and whose body is believed to have been found in Spain earlier this month, could have held a covert political refugee status in the country, the El Mundo newspaper reported.

According to the report, there is a possibility that the man enjoyed some type of protection from the Spanish government. Spain hasn’t yet officially confirmed that it was Kuzminov who was found dead in the Alicante province on February 13.

It’s unclear how Kuzminov entered Spain and how long he had stayed in the country, El Mundo wrote. It’s possible he had spent just a short time in the area where he was found dead, according to the report.

The Spanish news service EFE reported on February 19, citing sources familiar with the investigation, that Kuzminov was killed in Spain. The death was also confirmed by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Department.

The Spanish Civil Guard told TASS that law enforcement agencies are investigating a suspected murder of a 33-year-old Ukrainian national in the autonomous community of Valencia. The agency said the body was found inside a parking garage in Alicante with gunshot wounds. The law enforcement agency didn’t rule out that the identification documents that were found on the body could be fake.