Assassination of Former Ukrainian Lawmaker Linked to Controversial Political History

A former Ukrainian parliament member and advisor to ex-President Viktor Yanukovych was killed in a shooting near Madrid on Wednesday, according to a Spanish police source cited by AFP.

Authorities responded to a shooting incident in the upscale area of Pozuelo de Alarcón, where the assailants shot the man in the back and head as he was about to enter a vehicle. The source confirmed the victim’s identity as Andrii Portnov.

The shooters then escaped into a nearby wooded region, the source noted. The incident occurred close to a private American school.

Portnov was a lawmaker in the 2000s and subsequently served as the deputy head of the presidential administration under Yanukovych, who was a pro-Kremlin figure that fled to Russia in 2014 in the wake of a violent suppression of anti-government protests.

After Yanukovych was ousted, Portnov left Ukraine and reportedly resided in Russia and Austria before coming back following the election of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In 2021, the United States imposed sanctions on Portnov for alleged corruption, accusing him of exploiting his influence over Ukraine’s judicial system and law enforcement to hinder reform efforts.

Reports indicate that Portnov used his connections to government officials to escape Ukraine again in 2022, despite a wartime prohibition on men of military age leaving the country.