The Spanish authorities announced that Andrii Portnov, an advisor to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, was shot and killed outside an international school in Madrid on Wednesday (May 21).
The Spanish Interior Ministry confirmed that the victim, 51-year-old Andrii Portnov, was attacked outside the American School of Madrid. Authorities stated that he was shot dead at around 9:15 am local time, presumably just after dropping off his children at school.
Witnesses reported that Portnov was shot multiple times in the head and body by more than one assailant as he was getting into his black Mercedes car. The attackers then fled the scene on foot.
When medical personnel arrived, Portnov had already succumbed to his injuries, with at least three gunshot wounds on his body.
Portnov, a former Ukrainian politician closely associated with Yanukovych, served as the Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration from 2010 to 2014.
During Yanukovych’s presidency, Portnov was widely regarded as a pro-Russian political figure and was involved in drafting legislation aimed at persecuting participants of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.
The incident on Wednesday took place at a parking lot approximately 150 meters (500 feet) from the entrance of the American School of Madrid, with the police cordoning off the crime scene. The international school is located in the upscale neighborhood of Pozuelo de Alarcón north of the city center.
Parents informed the press that Portnov’s children attended this private school, with one parent mentioning that the victim had a son in the fourth grade. However, the school declined to confirm whether Portnov’s children were enrolled there.
Reports indicate that Portnov fled Ukraine in 2014, lived in Russia in 2015, and later moved to Austria. It is unclear when he relocated to Spain.
In 2018, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) launched an investigation against Portnov on charges of treason, alleging his involvement in Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea. The criminal case concluded in 2019.
In 2021, the United States imposed personal sanctions on Portnov, accusing him of being “responsible for corruption or participating (directly or indirectly) in corruption, including misappropriation of state assets, embezzlement of private assets for personal gain, corrupt acts related to government contracts or resource extraction.”
(Note: This article references reporting from the Associated Press)