The sophisticated machinations of the Ukrainian secret service – stolen from a Hollywood film How Putin’s war machine defies sanctions

Ukrainian military intelligence has been in high spirits for a week: Operation “Synytsia” (“Tit”) is being celebrated on all channels, the details of which have now been made public.

Even at a media conference in Kiev, Russian helicopter pilot Maksim Kuzminov was able to explain in detail how he managed to fly his Mi-8 helicopter from Kursk airport to Ukraine on August 9.

Kuzminov’s desertion was preceded by six months of meticulous planning with secret Ukrainian contacts. Despite being shot at and wounded in the leg, he was able to land the helicopter safely near Poltava. The pilot would have received $500,000 as a reward, it was said in Kiev. Moreover, his safety and that of his family are guaranteed.

“The Kremlin is beside itself,” Kirilo Budanov, head of military intelligence, said cheerfully in an interview with Ukrainian television – before immediately announcing the next coup.

His agents are in contact with other Russian pilots. Kuzminov’s successful escape will “fill with confidence those who are still hesitant,” Budanov, who was recently promoted to lieutenant general by President Zelensky, was quoted on the military intelligence website. At the previous media conference, intelligence officer Andrii Yusov appealed to all Russian soldiers: “You have a choice, even under a dictatorship you are not slaves.”

It was promptly spread across all social media channels that Ukraine was now offering $2 million and residency papers for any NATO country. All Russian pilots who deliver a MiG-31 fighter-bomber armed with a Kinschal hypersonic missile to Ukraine will receive this reward.

The exact origins of this offer remain somewhat mysterious, although military intelligence agencies are widely cited as the source. The massive spread on the Internet suggests that the whole thing is a devious plot and part of Kiev’s psychological warfare.

Of course, the Ukrainians do not seriously expect to get their hands on any MiG-31, including the infamous Kinschal. Due to its estimated range of 500 to 1,000 kilometers, Putin’s alleged miracle weapon will be fired deep into the Russian hinterland shortly after launch. If a Russian pilot were to delay shooting down and instead attempt to flee to Ukraine, he would likely immediately fall victim to his own air defenses.

From now on, every Russian pilot is under general suspicion

The supposedly suspended one million dollar bonus does have an effect. From now on, every Russian MiG-31 pilot is under general suspicion of being a potential deserter as soon as he steps into the cockpit. This is likely to cause a lot of nervousness among Budanov’s opponents of the Russian FSB. Ideally for Ukraine, even a MiG-31 could come under friendly fire if the pilot performed an unusual maneuver that aroused suspicion among his comrades.

This feint is not new. You would almost bet that Budanov and Co. stole the idea straight from a Hollywood script. In Roger Spottiswoode’s 1983 “Under Fire,” the photo reporter played by Nick Nolte comes across a leaflet during the civil war in Chad. In it, the CIA promises every Cuban pilot who flies for the rebels a villa with a swimming pool if he deserts in his Russian MiG jet.

“That is absolute nonsense,” says Nolte skeptically. “We know that, but they don’t,” replies his counterpart, played by Ed Harris: “Now the rebels won’t even let the Cubans come near their planes.”