Defector says 2 Russian military helicopters were used to transport pedigree cat during Ukraine war

A defecting Russian helicopter pilot, Kuzminov, told the Ukrainians that when he was fighting for the Russians, his commander "needed to transport a cat, which had some impressive pedigree. To do this, two Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopter crews were assigned. So, two helicopters transported this wonderful animal, so to speak, from Rostov to Yeysk [at which there is a Russian airbase]. The Mi-8 was flying the cat in, while the Mi-24 was circling to provide cover. We burned a lot of fuel, resources. Furthermore, the crews aren't always allowed to rest."

Russian chopper. Image: Getty.

The story is clear. His commander was abusing his position to fly his expensive pedigree cat around Russia. Although it's quite nice to know that his commander loved cats and owned a pedigree cat. But you can imagine the expense of it and you might imagine what his commander is now saying to him after this story was revealed by the defecting pilot.

It seems that this Russian pilot is yet another example of a Russian military man transferring his allegiances from Russia to Ukraine. You may know that the Ukrainians operate a scheme whereby they pay and assist defecting Russian military personnel who come over to the Ukrainian side. This is another example.

The man was paid, I'm told, US$500,000 or £398,000 for defecting with the helicopter. I think that money is partly remuneration for the pilot because of the risks he took and partly to purchase the helicopter!

Kuzminov hinted at the kind of indoctrination that the Russians are being bombarded with by Mr Putin and his cronies when he said that "The truth is, there are no Nazis or fascists". He is referring to the fact that Putin has consistently said that there are Nazis in Ukraine. What he means is that there are people in Ukraine who deny their Russian heritage and he really wants Ukraine to be part of Russia. And if you deny that in Ukraine you become a Nazi according to Mr Putin.

So, Kuzminov, like many other Russian military personnel simply had enough of living the lie and risking his life while killing innocent Ukrainians. He didn't want to do it anymore and changed sides. 

This must irritate Putin massively and I would expect Putin to be tracking him down to kill him. Putin has a very solid history of killing people he considers to be traitors usually by poisoning or some other mysterious accident. Numerous colleagues and associates, oligarchs and businessmen have been killed in this way by Putin.

Kuzminov landed his Russian helicopter in Ukraine's Poltava Oblast on August 23. He gave the helicopter to the Ukrainians of course together with spare parts!

He added that the war is "a real disgrace". He disagrees strongly with it. He hates the fact that "People are simply killing each other. That's all I can make of this, and I don't want to be part of it. What is going on now is simply the genocide of the Ukrainian people. Both Ukrainian and Russian."