Former Pro-Kremlin Ukrainian Lawmaker Shot Dead Near Madrid
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Former Pro-Kremlin Ukrainian Lawmaker Shot Dead Near Madrid
Andrii Portnov was a former Ukrainian lawmaker and aide to ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. He was shot in the back and head as he was about to get into a vehicle, police said. Portnov left Ukraine after Yanukovych’s ouster and reportedly lived in Russia and Austria.
Police responded to a shooting in the affluent town of Pozuelo de Alarcón, where “several people” shot the man in the back and head as he was “about to get into a vehicle,” the source said, confirming the victim was Andrii Portnov.
The shooters fled toward a wooded area, the source added. The attack took place near a private American school.
Portnov served as a lawmaker in the 2000s and later as deputy head of the presidential administration under Yanukovych, a pro-Kremlin leader who fled to Russia in 2014 after a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.
Portnov left Ukraine after Yanukovych’s ouster and reportedly lived in Russia and Austria before returning following the election of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The United States sanctioned Portnov in 2021 for alleged corruption, accusing him of leveraging his influence over Ukraine’s judiciary and law enforcement to undermine reform efforts.
Media reports said Portnov used his government ties to flee Ukraine again in 2022, despite a wartime ban on military-aged men leaving the country.
Ukrainian ex-top official shot dead outside Madrid school – reports
Andriy Portnov had been a top aide in the government of ousted pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. The 51-year-old man had just dropped his children off at the school in the Pozuelo de Alarcón area of the city.
A former leading Ukrainian official has been shot dead outside an American school in the Spanish capital Madrid, reports say.
The 51-year-old man, named by Ukrainian and Spanish sources as Andriy Portnov, had just dropped his children off at the school in the Pozuelo de Alarcón area of the city, reports say.
An unidentified attacker fired several shots at the victim before fleeing into a wooded area in a nearby public park, Spanish reports said.
Portnov had been an MP and deputy head in the administration of Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian president ousted in 2014 after months of protests.
He left Ukraine after the revolution, and in 2021 he was sanctioned by the US Treasury, which said he had been “widely known as a court fixer” who had taken steps to control the judiciary and undermine reform efforts.
It was not clear who was behind the shooting that took place at about 09:15 local time (07:15 GMT) on Wednesday, reportedly as children were still entering the school.
A similar gun attack took place in 2018 outside a British Council school a few kilometres away.
Sanctioned Ukrainian ex-politician killed outside Madrid’s American school, police source says
Andriy Portnov, 51, was a senior aide to ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. He was shot dead outside a school near the Spanish capital Madrid on Wednesday. Portnov was sanctioned by the United States in 2021 for corruption and bribery. The shooting took place outside The American School of Madrid, located in Pozuelo de Alaracon, an affluent suburb just west of Madrid. The school sent out various urgent messages to parents following the incident, noting that all students were safe and the victim is believed to be the father of a student, a source close to the school told CNN. The former politician fled Ukraine months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to an investigation by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, when men of draft age were not permitted to leave. The Security Service of Ukraine previously investigated Portnov’s possible involvement in Russia”s annexation of Crimea, but the case was later closed. The U.S. Treasury Department also froze his assets in 2014 as part of a crackdown on “corrupt foreign officials,” in relation to his work as a former adviser to Yanukovych.
Portnov, 51, a lawyer and former lawmaker, was the deputy head of Yanukovych’s administration before it was ousted in Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy uprising.
He was shot several times on Wednesday as he was getting into a car around 9:15 a.m. local time (3:15 a.m. ET), the Spanish police source said. Various assailants shot him in the back and the head, and later fled into a wooded area, the source said.
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The shooting took place outside The American School of Madrid, located in Pozuelo de Alaracon, an affluent suburb just west of Madrid.
The school sent out various urgent messages to parents following the incident, which took place shortly after school drop-off, noting that all students were safe and the victim is believed to be the father of a student, a source close to the school told CNN. Police cordoned off the area outside the elite school, which has just over 1,000 students from the United States, Spain and several dozen other countries.
Portnov was sanctioned by the United States in 2021 for corruption and bribery under the Magnitsky Act. He was “credibly accused of using his influence to buy access and decisions in Ukraine’s courts and undermining reform effort,” according to the US Treasury Department.
The Magnitsky Act, signed into law in December 2012, blocks entry into the US and freezes the assets of certain Russian and pro-Russian government officials and businessmen accused of human rights violations.
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The Security Service of Ukraine previously investigated Portnov’s possible involvement in Russia’s annexation of Crimea, but the case was later closed.
The former politician fled Ukraine months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to an investigation by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, when men of draft age were not permitted to leave.
Canada also froze his assets in 2014 as part of a crackdown on “corrupt foreign officials,” in relation to his work as a former adviser to ousted ex-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Portnov was appointed deputy head of Yanukovych’s administration in 2010, as well as the head of Ukraine’s Main Directorate for Judicial Reform and Judicial System. At the same time, Portnov became a member of the board of the National Bank of Ukraine.
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Yanukovych was driven from office by mass demonstrations in Ukraine in 2014 after he turned his back on the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.
Yanukovych then fled Ukraine for Russia, along with Portnov and other high-level former officials in the wake of the 2014 pro-democracy, pro-European Maidan protests. Portnov later returned to Ukraine in 2019.
Members of the judicial police at the scene outside The American School in Madrid after Andriy Portnov was shot dead on Wednesday. – Paul White/AP
Ukraine itself never imposed sanctions on Portnov.
In December 2024, media and civil society organizations in the country launched a petition demanding sanctions against him, alleging continued corruption aimed at controlling the Ukrainian judiciary, and highlighting concerns that he was going after critical journalists with lawsuits and threats. Portnov once released the personal data of several members of an investigative journalism project run by RFE/RL, who were looking into his dealings with the Ukrainian government.
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The petition gathered 25,000 signatures, but Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers rejected it, citing insufficient grounds for sanctions.
Portnov is not the only ally of former Ukrainian President Yanukovych who was killed after he was ousted from power.
In 2015, CNN reported on two high-profile shooting deaths in the Ukrainian capital – one of a former member of parliament with ties to Yanukovych, the other of a Ukrainian journalist known for his pro-Russian views.
At the time, those killings renewed speculation about a conspiracy to kill people close to Yanukovych, after three former members of parliament from his political party died by suspected suicide, found dead in their homes.
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Spain has also experienced a recent spate of targeted attacks related to the Russia-Ukraine war, and it has significant populations of expatriates from both countries.
In 2022, there was an explosion at Ukraine’s embassy in Madrid, injuring one Ukrainian employee who was handling a letter addressed to Kyiv’s ambassador to Spain, officials said.
Other letter bombs followed, including one sent to the Spanish prime minister. A Spanish man was eventually arrested for the bombs, which a judge said were intended to disturb public peace and create pressure for Spain to suppress its support to Ukraine.
Spain has provided humanitarian and military support to Ukraine since the Russian invasion.
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In 2024, a Russian pilot who dramatically defected to Ukraine by flying his helicopter across the border was found dead in Alicante, Spain, after being shot in the parking garage of an apartment building.
Al Goodman reported from Madrid. Lauren Kent and Jack Guy wrote and reported from London.
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Pro-Russia ex-Ukraine MP shot dead in Spain
Andriy Portnov was a lawmaker in the 2000s and became deputy head of the presidential administration under Yanukovych. He quit Ukraine after Yanukovych’s fall, living in Russia and Austria before returning to his home country after the election of current President Volodymyr Zelensky. The United States imposed sanctions on him in 2021 for alleged corruption, saying he had used his influence in the judiciary and law enforcement to buy access in Ukrainian courts.
Police rushed to the upmarket town of Pozuelo de Alarcón where “several people” shot a male “in the back and head” as he “prepared to climb into a vehicle”, the source said, confirming the victim was Andriy Portnov.
The shooters “later fled from the scene towards a wooded area”, the source added, saying the incident had occurred outside an American private school.
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Portnov was a lawmaker in the 2000s and became deputy head of the presidential administration under Yanukovych, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who fled to Russia in 2014 after cracking down on pro-EU protests in Ukraine.
Portnov quit Ukraine after Yanukovych’s fall, living in Russia and Austria before returning to his home country after the election of current President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The United States imposed sanctions on him in 2021 for alleged corruption, saying he had used his influence in the judiciary and law enforcement to buy access in Ukrainian courts and undermine reform efforts.
According to media reports, he used his connections within the spheres of power to escape Ukraine again in 2022, despite a ban on men liable for military service leaving the country during the Russian invasion.
Ukrainian authorities had not commented on the incident, but a military intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Portnov had been shot dead.
Ukraine has claimed or been linked with several assassinations in Russia and Moscow-occupied parts of Ukraine since the start of the invasion in 2022, targeting political or military officials or ideological supporters of the war.
Source: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/05/21/former-pro-kremlin-ukrainian-lawmaker-shot-dead-near-madrid-a89159