Ukrainian intelligence service spokesman Andrey Yusov confirmed to The Washington Post on Tuesday that the body belonged to Kuzminov.
Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, warned that the assassination could encourage the Russians to take more such measures.
“If the Russians feel so empowered within the EU that they start killing people, the question becomes very complicated. This is not the first time the Russians have behaved this way.”
The Spanish Ministry of the Interior did not confirm the identity of the body, which it described as being riddled with bullets, but it acknowledged in a statement the need to conduct further investigations into the case. Investigators initially believed the person who died was Ukrainian with a different name.
“In the course of the ongoing investigation, we have learned that this person’s identity may be fake and that it could be someone else’s identity. The Civil Guard is investigating this, but we are unable to provide any additional information at this time,” she added.
Spanish media quoted sources within the Civil Guard as confirming that the body belonged to Kuzminov.
On the Russian side, some have already begun to celebrate the death. Pro-Kremlin blogger Sergei Markov posted on Telegram that Kuzminov had been “eliminated.”
“We will not rejoice over the death of anyone. But this news can save the lives of many, because it reminds everyone: save your lives and never cooperate with the Ukrainian neo-fascist regime in anything.”
Sergei Naryshkin, head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, said on Tuesday that Kuzminov died the moment planning for the defection began. “In Russia, it is common to speak well of the dead or nothing at all. This traitor and criminal had already become a moral corpse at the moment he was planning his dirty and terrible crime.
A month after announcing his defection, Russian television broadcast a 10-minute documentary in which experts opined that Kuzminov killed his fellow soldiers on board the helicopter during the operation, and vowed revenge.
According to the program, Russian military intelligence, known as the GRU, had already received an order to eliminate him. “He will not live to see the trial,” said a fighter with his face hidden in the parade.
Ukraine announced with great fanfare in August an intelligence operation that convinced Kuzminov to fly his Mi-8 helicopter loaded with aircraft parts to Ukraine to defect. The crew members who were with him were unaware of the plot and were shot by Ukrainian forces when they refused to surrender, according to officials.
The Ukrainian government later announced that the pilot had received a reward of $500,000 in local currency and encouraged other Russian service members to follow his example.
Paul Shim in London contributed to this report.
