A Russian defector’s killing raised fears of hit squads

The men who killed Maksim Kuzminov wanted to send a message. The killers shot him six times in a parking garage in southern Spain, then ran over his body with their car. Investigators at the scene found casings from ammunition that was commonly used in the former Communist bloc.

Kuzminov defected from Russia to Ukraine last summer, flying a military helicopter into Ukrainian territory with secret documents. He committed the one offense President Vladimir Putin of Russia has said he will never forgive: treachery.

His killing in the seaside resort town of Villajoyosa in February has raised fears that Russia’s European spy networks continue to operate and are targeting enemies of the Kremlin, despite concerted efforts to dismantle them after Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022.

No evidence of direct Kremlin involvement has emerged. But Russia has made no secret of its desire to see Kuzminov dead, and senior police officials said that the attack resembled similar ones by the Kremlin.