MADRID, February 22. /TASS/. Pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who hijacked a Russian military helicopter in 2023, entered Spain last October with a Ukrainian passport in the name of Igor Shevchenko, the newspaper El Periodico reports, publishing a picture of the identity card.

According to the newspaper, the document is authentic, although it contains false data, and was issued on September 22, 2023. The passport indicated that the man was born in 1990 - five years earlier than in reality.

The publication says it is possible that the murder of Kuzminov was the work of ordinary criminals and is not a "spy story".

On February 19, the Spanish news agency EFE confirmed Kuzminov's death in Spain, citing sources familiar with the investigation. The fact of death was also confirmed by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. At the same time, the Spanish authorities have not yet officially confirmed that Kuzminov is the deceased.

The press service of the provincial civil guard told TASS that law enforcement agencies are investigating the alleged murder of a 33-year-old Ukrainian citizen in the autonomous community of Valencia. It is noted that the body was found with gunshot wounds. The guards did not rule out that the documents that the man had with him could be fake.