Andriy Portnov, a former Ukrainian politician and former close advisor to pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, was killed in Madrid on Wednesday in a mafia-style assassination attempt. The incident occurred at the entrance to the American School of Madrid in the wealthy Pozuelo de Alarcón neighborhood as Portnov was dropping his daughters off at school.
According to witnesses, Portnov was shot five times by two or three armed assailants on a motorbike. He was shot in the head and body as he tried to get back into his Mercedes at 9:15 a.m.
Spanish police have launched a broad investigation, initially focusing on the trail of a revenge plot, possibly linked to politics or unpaid debts, writes A2 CNN.
Portnov, 51, was a highly controversial figure in Ukraine. He was a close confidant of Yanukovych's government between 2010 and 2014 and played a key role in drafting repressive laws during the Euromaidan protests. After the regime was overthrown in 2014, he fled Ukraine, living first in Russia, then in Vienna, and then back in Ukraine.
He was the subject of several criminal charges, including charges of treason and aiding and abetting Russia's annexation of Crimea. Although the EU imposed sanctions on him in 2014, these were lifted a year later. However, in 2021, the US sanctioned him for deep corruption and influence over the Ukrainian judiciary.
His murder occurred in a tense climate for the Russian and Ukrainian community in Spain, where in recent years several serious events related to war and political conflicts have been recorded. (A2 Televizion)
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