Former Ukrainian Presidential Aide Shot Dead in Spain

Andriy Portnov, a former top aide to ex-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, was shot and killed by a group of gunmen in a suburb of Madrid, Spanish authorities confirmed on May 21.

Police responded to reports of a shooting near a school on the outskirts of the Spanish capital, where they discovered Portnov lying on the sidewalk with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“The assailants shot him in the head and back as he was getting into his car, then fled toward a nearby wooded area,” a Spanish Interior Ministry official told reporters. The 51-year-old victim was identified as Andriy Portnov, a former Ukrainian lawmaker and senior advisor to Yanukovych. According to local media, the attack took place shortly after he dropped his child off at school.

Portnov fled to Russia in 2014 after Yanukovych was ousted amid mass protests. He later became the subject of several investigations in Ukraine, including charges of treason and embezzlement. He was also sanctioned by the United States and other Western nations.

In 2021, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Portnov, alleging he had "established extensive ties with Ukraine's judicial and law enforcement systems through corrupt payments."

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, Spain—home to sizable Russian and Ukrainian immigrant communities—has seen a number of high-profile incidents linked to both nations.

In 2022, six letter bombs were sent to various targets across Spain, including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the U.S. and Ukrainian embassies, and government buildings. A retired Spanish civil servant was later arrested and jailed in connection with the attacks.

More recently, in February 2024, a Russian pilot who had defected to Ukraine by hijacking a military helicopter was shot and killed in Spain’s Alicante province.

(Sources: Reuters, AFP)

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