Russian pilot who handed over the Mi-8 helicopter to Ukraine calls on his colleagues to follow his example

4 September, 2023 Russian Mi-8 pilot Maksim Kuzminov.

2023 year. A frame from the documentary film "Downed Russian pilots" The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine has declassified the details of a special operation as part of which a Russian pilot handed over the Mi-8AMTSh helicopter.

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine revealed the details of the operation in the documentary "Downed Russian Pilots". This Defence Intelligence special operation, which had been prepared for several months, was codenamed Synytsia (Titmouse - Ed.). In particular, the film reveals the identity of the Russian pilot who flew the Mi-8AMTSh helicopter of the Russian Aerospace Forces with a tail number of 62 to Ukraine.

This is Captain Maksim Kuzminov, the commander of the Mi-8 helicopter. Along with the pilot, there were two crew members on board who did not know where the helicopter was actually going. The Mi-8 landed in the Kharkiv region.

In the course of the special operation, two crew members were killed. The Ukrainian intelligence officers received valuable documentation and classified equipment that was on board the Russian helicopter. The 28-year-old Russian pilot served in the 319th Helicopter Regiment of the Russian Air Force (military unit 13984), which was permanently stationed in the Primorsky Krai of Russia.

He contacted Ukrainian intelligence himself.