Spanish police kill a Ukrainian politician linked to Russia

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According to Spanish and Ukrainian officials, a former high-ranking Ukrainian political figure connected to the ousted pro Russian president of the country was shot dead outside a exclusive international school near Madrid on Wednesday.

Spain’s interior ministry confirmed the Financial Times that Andriy PORTNOV, who had been wanted in Ukraine before for treason was the victim of Wednesday morning’s fatal shooting.

Portnov was once an important political figure in Ukraine. He was also a close friend of Viktor Yanukovych who was deposed from his office by the revolution in 2014. Yanukovych, Portnov and other prominent Ukrainian politicians fled to Russia during that time.

Officials from Kyiv confirmed Portnov’s passing but declined to elaborate. Portnov was viewed by many Ukrainians as a traitor because of his role in helping Yanukovych crack down on pro-democracy protesters during the Revolution.

The Spanish interior ministry said Portnov, a Ukrainian national, was murdered on Wednesday morning in Pozuelo de Alarcón, a wealthy neighbourhood outside Madrid.

The shooting occurred outside of the American School in Madrid, which is one of the most expensive private schools in Spain.

Portnov was shot in the head and back by a group as he got into his vehicle, according to the ministry. Assailants escaped into a forest area. 

In a message to parents seen by the Financial Times, the American School of Madrid said: “It was a fatal shooting. Police have yet to identify the victim, although we believe it is an ASM parent. The school said that the area is secure and “all of our students are safe at campus”.

The ministry stated that forensic officers and murder investigators were “taking control of the investigation” to “fully clarify the events”.

Portnov, 51 years old, was a lawyer who served in the Ukrainian parliament before becoming the deputy head of Yanukovych’s presidential administration. This powerful position allowed him to influence some of Yanukovych’s controversial policies.

Mykola Davydiuk, a political analyst in Kyiv, said Portnov was one of Ukraine’s “grey cardinals” — an influential behind-the-scenes power broker who “manipulated” the law for personal gain and influence.

Portnov had been previously investigated by Ukraine’s security services for high-treason in relation to an alleged role he played in helping Russia invade and annex Crimea in 2014. The case was closed later, but the interior ministry of Ukraine opened investigations into accusations of embezzlement and corruption.

The US Treasury has placed him in custody under sanctions In 2021, the government will accuse him of direct involvement in corruption including misappropriation state assets. He was accused of using bribes to establish extensive ties with Ukraine’s judicial and police systems.

Known as a “court fixer”, the Treasury said, “Portnov took steps to control the Ukrainian judiciary, influence associated legislation, sought to place loyal officials in senior judiciary positions, and purchase court decisions”.

In mid-2019, the US government said, Portnov “colluded with a high ranking Ukrainian government official to shape the country’s higher legal institutions to their advantage and influence Ukraine’s Constitutional Court . . . [and] “The Ukrainian Prosecutor general.”

Portnov has denied all the allegations against him.

After the 2014 revolution he fled to Russia, then moved to Austria. After the election of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2019, he briefly returned to Ukraine, but left in 2022 after Russia’s invasion. He settled in Spain where there are many Ukrainian and Russian ex-pats.

Spain has been the site of several high profile crimes involving both nationalities since the war began in Ukraine.

In February 2024, a Russian helicopter pilot, Maksim Kuzminov — who defected to Ukraine in 2023 and was deemed a traitor by officials in Moscow — was found shot dead, his body riddled with bullets, near a burnt-out vehicle, Ukrainian military intelligence told the FT at the time.