Lethal shooting of former Ukrainian presidential adviser in Spain
(MENAFN) Andrey Portnov, a former Ukrainian lawmaker and adviser to the president, was fatally shot in a Madrid suburb on Wednesday, Spanish media report. While authorities have confirmed a homicide investigation is underway in Pozuelo de Alarcon, they have not yet officially identified the victim.
According to reports, Portnov was shot multiple times near his Mercedes after dropping off his children at the American School in the area. Accounts of the incident vary: El Mundo cited a police source who described a lone gunman firing five shots, with the final one aimed at Portnov’s head. In contrast, El Pais reported that two or three attackers ambushed him while he was inspecting his car’s trunk, with at least three shots hitting his head.
Spanish outlet 20minutos noted that investigators are considering the possibility of a criminal underworld connection, but a potential link to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has not been ruled out. No arrests have been made.
Portnov, born in 1973 in what is now the Russian city of Lugansk, began his career in law and later entered politics. He served in Ukraine’s parliament with Yulia Tymoshenko’s party and joined President Viktor Yanukovich’s administration as deputy chief of staff, where he was involved in judicial reforms, including drafting Ukraine’s 2012 criminal code.
During the 2014 Maidan uprising, Portnov was blamed for introducing restrictive laws aimed at curbing protests—laws the new authorities eventually implemented in similar form. Following the coup, he left Ukraine, living in Russia and Austria, while remaining an active political commentator and legal figure.
Portnov returned to Ukraine in 2019 after backing Vladimir Zelensky’s presidential campaign and launched a series of legal actions against then-outgoing President Pyotr Poroshenko. His reemergence in Ukrainian politics drew criticism from the U.S., which imposed sanctions on him in 2021 over alleged corruption.
By 2022, amid President Zelensky’s broader crackdown on political opponents, Portnov again left Ukraine. He was accused by Ukrainian media of owning luxury real estate in Moscow linked to figures close to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
A senior Russian diplomat has suggested the shooting may resemble an “extrajudicial execution,” possibly intended to silence the controversial political figure.
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