Fears Putin would hit strike team AT LARGE in Spain after 'calling card' at the scene of the murder of a Russian defector 'who made a fatal mistake'
A RUSSIAN hit squad is feared to be on the loose among British holidaymakers following the sinister gun killing of a Ukrainian defector in Spain.
Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov28, who defected to Ukraine in his Mi8 helicopter found riddled with bullets in a parking garage only 16 km from Benidorm.
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Police sources have revealed that the ammunition used to kill him was clearly Russian – a move believed to have been intended as a chilling 'calling card'.
It is feared that Kuzminov, who was living under a new identity, may have been murdered by one Putin hit squad permanently based in Costa Blanca.
A report claims the same sinister secret services and mafia-linked cells were likely behind the murder of a Russian family in Spain – one of the highest-profile mysterious cases of tycoon deaths linked to Putin's war.
Captain Maxim Kuzminov, 28, was shot dead in Spain on February 13, months afterward Moscow labeled him a traitor.
His body was found in a garage in the coastal town of Villajoyosa in Alicante.
Spanish detectives said they are treating the murder as a “settling of scores” as the victim was shot six times and then run over by a vehicle used by the killers, EFE reported.
It is believed he made a fatal mistake and gave away his location after inviting his ex-girlfriend to visit him in Alicante.
The call could have been intercepted by Russian secret services, Spanish media report.
Kuzminov had flown his Mi-8 helicopter over the front line in August to defect to Ukraine, after which Russian secret service figures publicly threatened him with assassination.
The pilot was reportedly promised a reward of £400,000 for surrendering to Ukraine and handing over the helicopter.
He is said to have used his new wealth to buy real estate from a real estate agency with Russian ties.
Links have now been made between Kuzminov's murder and the events of 2022 case of multimillionaire Sergei Protosenya.
The 55-year-old oligarch was found hanged after allegedly killing his wife Natalia, 53, and their teenage daughter Maria with an ax as they slept in their luxury Costa Brava villa.
Protosenya was a former vice chairman of Novotek, a company closely linked to the Kremlin.
The independent Telegram channel Volya – which monitors both sides in the war – claims that both Russian secret services and long-standing mafia clans are active in Spain.
The report states: “The Russians have been living in Alicante, Altea, Benidorm and neighboring small towns for two years now, providing security for cargo and ships, cash used for settlements, and 'export-import' escort – specialists coming from the Russian Federation, some of whom wear FSB shoulder straps, and some [GRU military intelligence].
'Among these people are… professional murderers or saboteurs.
“It was they who murdered the former top manager of Novatek Sergei Protosenya in the spring of 2022 in Lloret de Mar [a Catalan resort town].
“The murder of Protosenya, which was linked to pre-war plans to withdraw money from the Russian Federation in favor of security forces from Putin's inner circle… was linked to the purge of personnel who knew a lot about the withdrawal of money to the EU and its legalization there.
“They tried to cover up that death as an alleged domestic homicide.”
VOW OF REVENGE
The report claimed it was 'staged' to give the impression that Protosenya had murdered his family and then taken his life.
The Volya report added: “But they did not disguise themselves with Kuzminov.
“They promised to punish him – they punished.”
They were also able to hire Spanish killers to do their dirty work, the report alleged.
It warned: “While European politicians express concern about Navalny's murder, Russian assassins and intelligence services are active and unfortunately operating successfully across Europe and other parts of the world.”
The Protosenya case is one of dozens of mysterious Russian deaths since the war began involving many tycoons, some closely linked to the Kremlin and its favored business empires.
Earlier, Telegram channel Mozhem Obyasnit said that Protosenya – who had a fortune of $440 million – was linked to “Putin's inner circle”.
Anonymous Spetsnaz officers from Russia's GRU military intelligence service appeared on state TV in Moscow last year, making it clear that an “order” had been given to liquidate Kuzminov.
State channel Rossiya 1's Vesti Nedeli program told viewers in a chilling broadcast: “The order [to kill Captain Kuzminov] has been received, its implementation is a matter of time.”
One Spetsnaz officer said: “We will find the man and punish him for betraying his brothers, to the fullest extent of the law of our country.”
A second officer vowed: “He will not live”
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