Former Ukrainian aide Andriy Portnov shot dead in Madrid
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Andriy Portnov, former aide to pro-Russian ex-president Viktor Yanukovich, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen outside the American School of Madrid in Pozuelo de Alarcón.
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Members of the judicial police work next to the body of Andriy Portnov, an advisor to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, who was shot dead on Wednesday outside a school in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP)
Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a former Ukrainian politician on Wednesday outside a school in an affluent suburb of Madrid, according to Spain's Interior Ministry.
The victim, 51-year-old Andriy Portnov, had previously served as a senior aide to pro-Russian former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich, who was overthrown during the 2014 popular uprising.
According to police officials who spoke to Reuters, officers arrived at the scene after receiving calls at 9:15 am (0715 GMT) reporting a man with gunshot wounds on the street outside the American School of Madrid, located in the Pozuelo de Alarcón suburb west of the capital.
"Several persons shot him in the back and the head and then fled towards a forested area," an Interior Ministry source said, according to Reuters.
A spokesperson stated that when emergency services arrived, they found Portnov dead with at least three gunshot wounds, while police had cordoned off the pavement outside the school where the body of a person wearing white running shoes lay near a black Mercedes-Benz car.
After fleeing to Russia in 2014, Portnov faced investigations in Ukraine on allegations of treason and embezzlement, while also being subjected to European Union sanctions that were later lifted along with the criminal charges against him.
In 2021, the US Treasury Department added Portnov to its sanctions list, accusing him of having "cultivated extensive connections to Ukraine's judicial and law enforcement apparatus through bribery."
According to a letter sent to parents and seen by Reuters, the American School of Madrid stated that while it believed the victim was a parent of children enrolled at the school, it was awaiting official confirmation of his identity from the police.
The letter mentioned that police were present on campus conducting interviews with parents who had witnessed the incident, while a school spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment regarding either the shooting or the contents of the letter.
