Paris | Maksim Kuzminov pulled off a daring escape last year when he defected to Ukraine and handed his military helicopter over to Ukrainian commandos in exchange for half a million dollars.
Ukraine trumpeted the defection as a major coup. But in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, he was guilty of the most grievous sin anyone can commit: treason. Ukrainian intelligence officials warned Mr Kuzminov that his life was in danger and urged him not to leave the country.
