Maksim Kuzminov, the 28-year-old Russian pilot of the Mi-8 helicopter who surrendered to Ukraine after landing in a Ukrainian airfield on Aug. 23, called on other Russian pilots to follow his example.
According to him, he contacted the HUR - presumably via a secret chat on Telegram - and they planned for half a year. The helicopter was shot at when crossing the border, but he believes it likely came from the Russian side. Also worth noting that he didn’t land in an airfield. The helicopter was moved to an airfield in Kyiv after the fact.
The pilot made Ukrainian special services aware of his intend to surrender. There was a corridor organized for him.
I have read in another article that the pilot was somehow shot and injured in the process, it's unclear why.
Would it be more moral to stay with the Russians and kill (probably more than two) Ukrainians instead?
War puts people in terrible positions. I don't know this guy or his story, and I think he may either be saying or receiving some half-truths (his comment on "you will be provided for for the rest of your life" at the ripe old age of 28 made me raise my eyebrow), but the sad reality is that people kill people when they're in war. I don't think it's fair to label the guy based on his situation.
It’s war. Plus, the pilot was thinking about his family as well. His family was either on their way out of Russia or already in Ukraine so it was fairly important to deliver a helicopter.
I am trying to think about what I would do in that situation. Maybe I could risk bringing a defection up in conversation and try to find out if the other person wanted to join or not. I suppose there would be a few things like that I could do, but I dunno. I wasn’t there.
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