After news broke that a Russian helicopter pilot defected to Ukraine, calls to a hotline set up for Russian soldiers wanting to surrender to Ukraine’s military increased by 70% in one day, Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) spokesperson Andrii Yusov said on Sept. 11.
On Sept. 5, the HUR announced he would receive the hryvnia equivalent of $500,000 (approximately Hr 18.48 million) as a reward. Ukraine’s parliament passed a law in April 2022 offering up to $1 million to Russian military personnel who manage to transfer equipment to Ukraine, depending on the type of equipment they hand over.
Hot damn, that’s not bad for getting to start a new life in a democratic country AND getting to skip out on committing war crimes.
Maksim Kuzminov, 28-year-old Russian helicopter pilot, landed his Mi-8 helicopter at an airfield in Ukraine to give himself up to the authorities, Ukrainian media reported on Aug. 23.
I don’t know how much those cost, but that’s quite the present!
Also $500k for an irreplaceable $9m MI-8 it’s a good deal.
I wouldn’t have expected it to have such an impact, but I’m glad.
