(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine with his copter says he didn't want to be part of 'genocide' [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-09-05 In a daring operation, a Russian helicopter pilot defected to Ukraine last month with the help of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence. The Russian pilot, identified as Maxim Kuzminov, said in a video interview that he didn’t want to be a part of the “genocide against the Ukrainian people” any longer. On Sunday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate released a video about the months-long operation, code named “Nightingale,” that successfully brought the Russian pilot with his MI-8AMTSh helicopter safely to Ukraine in August. Kuzminov, a captain in the Russian Air Force’s 319th helicopter regiment, said he chose to defect because he opposes Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The whole operation resembles a real-life mini version of Tom Clancy’s Cold War thriller “The Hunt for Red October.” It marked the first time a Russian pilot had defected since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Kuzminov said he was a military transport helicopter pilot tasked with moving troops and equipment across Russia and into occupied territory in Ukraine. The helicopter was delivered intact along with its cargo of spare parts for Russian fighter jets. It is being outfitted for eventual use by Ukraine’s fleet of attack helicopters after a detailed examination of its equipment, according to Ukrainska Pravda The independent Russian news outlet Meduza, now operating out of Latvia, released an excerpt from the video with English subtitles. x YouTube Video In the video, Kuzminov pushed back against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s justification for the war in Ukraine, the false claim that Russia was fighting Nazis there. CNN provided this translation of Kuzminov’s remarks: “The truth is, there are no Nazis or fascists here. It’s a real disgrace what is happening here. Murder, tears, blood. People are simply killing each other. That’s all I can make of this and I don’t want to be a part of it,” he said. “What is going on now is simply the genocide of the Ukrainian people. Both Ukrainian and Russian. The motivation for my action was to not contribute to these crimes. Ukraine will unequivocally win this war simply because the people are very united. Before they were not like this, but now they are very unified. The whole world is helping them, because first and foremost, human life should be valued.” The pilot also urged other Russians in the military to defect to Ukraine. “You’ll be provided for, for the rest of your lives. You will be offered a job everywhere, no matter what you do. You’ll simply discover a world of colors.” In the video, Kuzminov explained how he contacted Ukrainian authorities and described his situation. He said Ukrainian military intelligence proposed this option: “’‘Come on, we guarantee your safety, guarantee new documents, guarantee monetary compensation, a reward,’” the pilot said, according to CNN’s translation. But before the plan could proceed, Ukrainian intelligence first had to secure the safety of Kuzminov’s family. Ukrainska Pravda quoted Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s Chief of Defense Intelligence, as saying: "We were able to find the right approach to the pilot, move his entire family [out of Russia] unnoticed, and finally create conditions where he was able to move this aircraft with the crew without them knowing what was going on.” In the video, Kuzminov said that he realized on one flight that he was right next to the border. “I sent them my location. was close to the border. I said “Let’s try it — I’m located nearby. And decided to go for it. I flew at an extremely low altitude under radio silence. Essentially nobody knew what was going on with me. … I flew over the border. The plan worked. I landed. They came to meet me.” On Tuesday, Kuzminov spoke at a news conference in Kyiv and revealed further details about the defection flight, Ukrainska Pravda reported. The pilot said that at 4:30 p.m. he took off from an airfield near the Russian city of Kursk headed to an airfield in territory occupied by Russian forces in the northeastern Kharkiv region. The helicopter was on a cargo mission carrying parts for Russian fighter jets. He landed the helicopter near the city of Vovchansk in Ukrainian-held territory in the Kharkiv region. As the helicopter crossed the border, he said it came under small arms fire. “I can’t say for sure who started it, but I assume it was the Russian side. I was wounded in the leg by small arms. Then I flew off for about 20 km (12 miles) and landed at the place indicated,” the pilot said. x Пілот вкраденого з Росії вертольота розповів, як його колеги не захотіли здаватись Україні. Відео УП pic.twitter.com/plWzSEmic2 — Українська правда ✌️ (@ukrpravda_news) September 5, 2023 Kuzminov said the plane had two other crew members. "We had no weapons with us. Our pilots fly without weapons. “ No one was able to resist me, because the navigator -- he does not have the skills of piloting a helicopter. I reassured the boys, I said that everything is fine, that good people live here, everything will be fine. But they became afraid, began to behave a little aggressively and, it turns out, ran out of the helicopter towards the border.” “I don't know their further fate, but, according to the media, it is possible that they were liquidated." Budanov had earlier reported that Ukrainian forces would have preferred to capture the two other crew members alive, but unfortunately they tried to escape and were killed, according to Ukrainska Pravda. In the video, Kuzminov said he first reached out to Ukrainian military intelligence in late 2022, The Hill reported. The escape took place on Aug. 9, but Ukrainian authorities did not reveal the defection until two weeks later. The Hill reported: Independent Russian Telegram channel Agenstvo identified Kuzminov as a pilot of the 319th separate helicopter regiment of the Eastern Military District, an army aviation regiment based in Primorsk in Russia’s Far East. Ukrainian Military Intelligence Directorate spokesman Andriy Yusov, said the 28-year-old Russian pilot will receive a reward equivalent to $500,000 in hryvnia, the Ukrainian currency, according to Ukrainska Pravda. Ukraine passed a law in April 2022 that provides appropriate compensation to Russians who go over to Ukraine with their equipment. “Ukraine is a democratic legal state, we fulfill our own obligations and international law (we adhere to),” Yusov said. “Therefore, once again, those Russians who do not want to become war criminals, please give up, go over to the Ukrainian side and defend your own honor and conscience, fight against the Putin regime." At Tuesday’s press conference, Yusov said that Ukraine had obtained a significant amount of valuable intelligence from the operation, The New Voice of Ukraine reported. Yusov said: [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/5/2191618/-Russian-pilot-who-defected-to-Ukraine-with-his-copter-says-he-didn-t-want-to-be-part-of-genocide Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/