Liquidation Of Yanukovych's Adviser In Madrid: New Details Emerge
- 21.05.2025, 13:59
The preliminary cause of the attack has been announced.
Former Ukrainian politician and lawyer - Andriy Portnov was shot dead. It happened on Wednesday, May 21 in Spain.
RBC-Ukraine in the material below has collected everything that is known about Portnov's murder at the moment.
How did Portnov's murder happen?
Spanish media and Reuters news agency were the first to write about Portnov's murder. Subsequently, information that the former Ukrainian politician was killed was also confirmed by RBC-Ukraine sources in the Security Forces.
Spanish radio station Cadena SER reported that Portnov was shot at the gate of the American School in the wealthy municipality of Posuelo (outside Madrid). The media outlet notes that it happened as the man was taking his children to school.
The incident occurred around 9:15 a.m., according to the media outlet. Police received a report of a man with gunshot wounds who was lying in the open. The ambulance service confirmed his death, finding injuries incompatible with life upon arrival at the scene.
Spanish media reports that Portnov suffered four gunshot wounds to the chest and one to the head (fatal).
Later, the publication El País released details of the murder of the former Ukrainian politician. Journalists wrote that the shooting started when Portnov was driving his children to school while driving a Mercedes.
"The victim was about to get into a Mercedes when he was suddenly met by two or three assailants who shot him five times and fled the scene into a wooded area," El País noted.
"Debt problem" is being cited by Spanish media as a preliminary reason for the killing.
Do we know who shot him?"
None of the attackers have been apprehended yet. It is reported that there may have been two or three shooters. They fired five shots - to the head and chest. Local police are also not providing details about the type of weapon used, explaining that "the investigation has just begun."
"There is a lot of commotion right now. We are in shock and we are trying to organize a response," an official at the American School, outside whose building the killing took place, told El País.
She confirmed that the incident took place in front of the school. But added that she did not know if the victim was the father of any of the institution's students.
"We don't know anything. The police are the only ones who can provide more information...The incident happened half an hour after school started, so neither the children nor their parents saw anything. Now the educational process continues, but the school management is meeting to discuss what to do next," she added.
Who is Andrei Portnov?"
Andrei Portnov was born on October 27, 1973 in the city of Lugansk (now temporarily occupied by Russia). He graduated from the East Ukrainian State University as a lawyer. He received a Candidate of Economic Sciences and a Doctor of Law. He was a professor at the Law Faculty of the Kyiv National Shevchenko University.
Portnov is a former Ukrainian politician and lawyer. He was a People's Deputy of Ukraine of 5-6 convocations (2006-2007, 2007-2010). In 2005-2010, he headed the legal department of the election headquarters of Yulia Tymoshenko.
From April 2, 2010 to the end of February 2014, he worked as the head of the Main Directorate for Judicial Administration of the Administration of fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych, as well as deputy (since January 24, 2014 first deputy) head of the administration of the then President of Ukraine.
During the Euromaidan he was involved in the adoption of the "laws of January 16". After the Revolution of Dignity, he left Ukraine. In 2014-2015 he was under sanctions of the European Union. He lived in Russia, then moved to Vienna (Austria), practiced law. On May 19, 2019, he temporarily returned to Ukraine. But subsequently left it again.
A number of criminal cases were filed against Portnov, many of which he won in court. In 2018, Ukrainian investigators launched an investigation into Portnov's involvement in the annexation of Crimea; the SBU opened a case under the article "High Treason," which was closed on August 15, 2019.
Since 2021, he has been under US visa and financial sanctions due to his involvement in large-scale corruption in Ukraine.
Portnov had a huge influence on Ukraine's judicial system. This influence, as noted by Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a parliamentarian from Golos, he retained until recently.