The Defense Intelligence's write-up of Kuzminov's interview didn't mention the other members of his crew who were taken by surprise when the helicopter landed in enemy territory.

When it occurred to the two crew members that they were in Ukraine, almost 200 miles from the front line, they started to freak out and tried to run, Ukrainian officials told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty last month. The two crew members were unwilling to surrender and subsequently "eliminated," military officials said.

Your pilot did all of the hard work. All you needed to do was chill...fucking morons. Good riddance.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It's entirely possible that the crew members were concerned about retribution back home for their families. It's a rational concern, because they weren't planning to abandon their homes and loved ones and leave them behind to live as the families of traitors under despotic rule. The pilot's family left the country already.

It's also possible that the crewmembers were not killed, and that this is a cover story to protect their families.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah if I was going to defect lying to say I was dead would be part of the deal.

Assuming I couldn't otherwise get my family out.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

They might have also been unaware of the plan, and found themselves in Ukraine without a lot of options. It could be column A, we kill you, or column B, we tell everyone we killed you but we don't. It's not like they would send enemy soldiers home to keep fighting.