"Defected Russian Pilot's Daring Low-Flying Maneuver to Evade Detection"

Russian pilot Maksym Kuzminov, who defected to Ukraine with a Mi-8 helicopter, revealed that he flew just 32 feet above the ground with his transponder off to avoid detection. The daring defection, which took six months to plan, was made public in August. Kuzminov communicated with Ukrainian defense officials via encrypted messaging and successfully flew the stolen Russian helicopter into Ukraine. He encouraged other pilots to defect and called Russia's war against Ukraine a "crime."