KYIV — Spanish authorities are investigating the murder of Andrii Portnov, a prominent former Ukrainian politician who had been living in Spain.
Portnov, 51, was fatally shot by several unidentified individuals in Pozuelo de Alarcón, a suburb of Madrid, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry.
“Official reports confirm the victim was shot multiple times while entering a vehicle. He was struck in the back and head by several assailants who then fled the scene into a nearby wooded area,” the ministry’s spokesperson told POLITICO.
Portnov was a key figure in the inner circle of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who is currently living in exile and known for his pro-Russian stance. In 2021, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on Portnov, citing his alleged involvement in systemic corruption, particularly within Ukraine’s judicial system.
His death is the latest in a series of violent incidents in Spain linked to the political fallout from the war in Ukraine. In an earlier case, Maxim Kuzminov, a Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion, was shot dead in 2024 in the coastal town of Villajoyosa, near Alicante.
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