In brief
The shocking murder of Andriy Portnov, a former senior aide to Ukraine's ex-president Viktor F. Yanukovych, occurred Wednesday morning in Pozuelo de Alarcón, near Madrid.
Police were alerted at approximately 9:15 a.m. to reports of a man with gunshot wounds, later identified as Portnov, who was shot multiple times in the back and head as he attempted to enter his vehicle. Spanish authorities confirmed that several assailants fled following the shooting, leading to an active investigation to ascertain the circumstances and motives behind the killing. The incident took place near the private American School of Madrid, which has not issued any statement regarding the event.Portnov held the position of deputy head in Yanukovych's administration from 2010 until the president was ousted during the 2014 protests against his pro-Moscow stance. Following the uprising, Yanukovych and some of his close aides, including Portnov, fled to Russia. Although Portnov later returned to Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelensky's election in 2019, he left the country again. In December 2021, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on Portnov and his charitable organization due to allegations related to corruption and bribery, raising questions about any recent political endeavors he may have engaged in. The exact motivations behind the assassination remain unclear, as investigations unfold into this high-profile murder.
