 Russian pilot reveals details of flying Mi-8 to Ukraine and persuading crew to surrender. Maxim Kuzminov, the pilot of the Russian Mi-8 helicopter that ended up in Ukraine, has revealed that during the final stage of the operation, he persuaded the crew to surrender to the Ukrainian side, but they got scared, turned aggressive and ran towards the border after landing. The Russian pilot spoke about this during a press conference in Kiev. I had two crew members with me, we did not have any weapons with us, our pilots fly unarmed. No one could resist me since the navigator had no helicopter piloting skills. I reassured the guys, telling them everything was fine, good people lived here and nothing would go wrong. But they got afraid, began behaving aggressively and eventually rushed out of the helicopter towards the border. I don't know their fate, but the media reports suggest they may have been killed. Kuzminov said. The pilot said he didn't just hijack the helicopter, he officially piloted it from point A to point B as the route and landing site had been agreed in advance. Kuzminov said they took off at 1630 from the Kursk airfield to Kharkiv Oblast, about 20 km from the border. Then, near Russia's village of Shebekino, he flew at an extremely low altitude, 5-10 meters, and in radio silence. As he crossed the border, he was fired upon. I can't say for sure who started it, but I assume it was the Russian side. I was shot in the leg with small arms. I then flew about 20 km away and landed at the designated location, the pilot said. He claims that he has only performed transport operations to move military personnel or cargo, not bombing. I was in Mariupol and Burdiansk. He supposedly fought in the war with tears in his eyes. Kuzminov is now considering joining Ukrainian aviation. He added that the initial information on the opportunity to surrender with a helicopter came from police officers and then the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine joined the operation. The pilot, he said, was promised payments under a special law, new documents and security for himself and his relatives. The helicopter is now part of the aircraft unit of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.