Kuzminov and his family are currently safe in Ukraine. The pilot was rewarded with $500,000 for defecting with his helicopter after the Ukrainian government last year implemented a program that incentivizes Russian military members to defect with their equipment in exchange for hefty monetary rewards.
Could be that Russia’s response to this information might cause themselves more harm than it will affect future defectors, even if it prevents as many from doing so. There’s also the question about how safe it is to accept Russian defectors since any of them could be double agents, so maybe Ukraine isn’t that worried about cutting them off.
Or maybe they want to flush out Russian assassins be offering a tantalizing political target instead of them going after more strategic ones.
After months of planning, which included the removal of Kuzminov’s parents from Russia to Ukraine, he finally made his move in August, flying the helicopter at a low altitude in radio silence mode across the border and into Ukrainian territory.
Was happy to read about his family getting out first. Always worry about that with russia, china, and north korea.
Bloody legend. We actually found one: a good Russian.
Now if only the rest of his idiot former comrades would smarten up and do the same.
edit: i want to note that this sentiment is not an ok one to sincerely hold. being russian doesn’t make anyone evil. they are indeed human beings who largely didn’t want any part in this shitshow and were coerced into doing it by corrupt, greedy, incompetent leadership.
intelligence and bravery are traits that any person can possess no matter where they come from, and goodness knows that if the united states rounded up all of my dearest friends and then ordered me to pilot a helicopter and invade mexico, i myself would have been too chickenshit to defect under the full knowledge that my mother’s few remaining years of life would be pure agony and suffering in a gulag, and that everyone else i’ve ever loved will die screaming at the hands of the united states federal government.
I mean, many of the Russians who are fighting do not want to fight, they are being forced to against their will.
The situation with Russia and Ukraine is a bit similar to the one with Japan and China in WWII, except Putin is instigating the war and many of the military do not want to fight.
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