A JUDGE has closed a probe into the February 2024 shooting of a Russian pilot who defected to the Ukraine because no suspects can be identified or located.
Maxim Kuzminov, 33, was sprayed with bullets at an underground car park of an apartment complex on Calle Marinada in Villajoyosa.
He had been shot at least five times.
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Kuzminov seized control of a Russian Mi-8 helicopter in August 2023 and brought it safely to an airbase in the Kharkiv region of the Ukraine.
After the defection, special forces officers from the Russian Intelligence Service appeared on state television making clear that an ‘order’ had been given for the assassination of Kuzminov.
A week after his death, the Kremlin branded him as a ‘criminal traitor’.
Investigations into the killing have drawn a blank and now a Villajoyosa judge has filed the inquiry which turned up nothing.
The Valencian Superior Court said: “The judge made his ruling after getting a report from the Guardia Civil that it has not been possible to find out who was behind the shooting.”
The probe had been deemed as secret to protect investigations.
Three suspects including a former KGB officer and a policeman were identified by CBS News in November 2024.
The El Español news portal reported that the Guardia initially worked on the theory that Chechens had been recruited in the Valencia region by Russia to carry out the hit.
A resident found Kuzminov’s body on the ramp of the car park and spotted a car driving away that was subsequently found on fire some 20km down the coast at El Campello.
The shooting was apparently carried out on the second floor of the car park with Kuzminov trying to flee before collapsing on the ramp.
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