[Aljazeera] A Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine with a Mi-8 helicopter will receive a substantial reward of half a million dollars for changing sides and taking Russia’s military equipment with him.Ukraine’s military intelligence spokesman, Andriy Yusov, said on Ukrainian television on Tuesday that the money would be paid in the national currency, the hryvnia, and called on other Russian military personnel to follow suit and defect to Kyiv’s side.
The case of the 28-year-old Russian helicopter pilot, Maxim Kuzminov, has been widely reported on by Ukrainian media.
"Once again, those Russians who don’t want to become war criminals, please, surrender, defect to the Ukrainian side and defend your own honour and conscience, fight against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s regime," Yusov said in a television discussion on the high-profile defection.