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Spanish authorities are investigating the brazen assassination of former Ukrainian politician and lawyer Andriy Portnov, who was shot dead Wednesday morning outside the prestigious American School of Madrid in the affluent suburb of Pozuelo de Alarcón, as reported by El País.
Madrid’s emergency services announced on social media that a man had been fatally shot in the area, though they did not disclose his identity.
According to Spain’s Interior Ministry, several unidentified attackers opened fire on Portnov at around 9:15 a.m. local time as he was about to enter his car after dropping off his children. Sources told El País that the assailants fired five rounds, hitting the 52-year-old at least three times—in the head, neck, and torso. Emergency responders confirmed his death on the scene.
The attackers reportedly fled on foot into a nearby wooded area. As of publication, no arrests have been made. Forensic police and homicide investigators remain on-site, and a helicopter and drones were deployed in the area to assist in the search for suspects.
Portnov was a prominent aide to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted during the 2014 Maidan uprising.
A polarizing figure in Ukrainian politics, Portnov fled to Russia after the revolution and faced numerous investigations and sanctions. In 2018, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) opened a treason case against him over his alleged role in the annexation of Crimea, though the case was later dropped.
According to Kyiv Independent, OCCRP’s Ukrainian partner, Portnov was widely seen as “the architect of Ukraine's judiciary, corrupt and unreformed,” and someone who "attacked everyone who dared to speak out.”
He played a key role in subordinating Ukraine’s courts to the executive branch and helped draft the 2012 Criminal Procedure Code, which watchdogs say hindered corruption investigations. Even after leaving Ukraine, Portnov reportedly maintained influence over the judiciary through his allies and legal maneuvers.
Vitaliy Shabunin, head of Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center, called Portnov “a role model for today’s corrupt powerbrokers around the President’s Office.”
“He did a lot of harm to this country, and to the Anti-Corruption Action Center. We never wished him such an end. To rot in prison — yes. To die like a dog — no,” Shabunin wrote on Facebook:
A number of officials and experts say Portnov’s activities served Russian interests. “It doesn't matter to us whether he was a useful idiot or a paid agent,” said Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a Ukrainian lawmaker, in a comment to Kyiv Independent. “But he undoubtedly acted in Russia’s interests.”
Mykhailo Zhernakov, head of the judicial watchdog Dejure, said Portnov “personally influenced the appointment of judges.”
Kyiv Independent also reported that his name had been tied to efforts to influence Ukraine’s Constitutional Court through associates close to President Zelensky’s team, including former Chief of Staff Andriy Bohdan and judge Oleksandr Tupytsky.
Portnov was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2021 for allegedly using bribery to gain influence over Ukraine’s legal system. He had reportedly obtained Russian citizenship in 2014 and had been living in Spain with his family.
In recent years, Portnov sued several Ukrainian journalists and media outlets for reporting on his alleged ties to Russia and his role in the judiciary. One of the lawsuits targeted Kyiv Independent editor-in-chief Olga Rudenko over a 2023 article. The outlet also reported that Portnov had published personal data of investigative journalists, including home address and car license plate, warning them to “be careful driving at night.”
“It was systematic work aimed at hampering the functioning of independent media,” Yurchyshyn told Kyiv Independent.
The killing is the latest in a string of violent incidents in Spain that appears to be involving individuals connected to Russia and Ukraine since the outbreak of full-scale war in February 2022.
In February 2024, a Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine was found shot dead near Alicante. In 2022, six letter bombs were sent to various high-profile targets, including the Ukrainian and U.S. embassies in Madrid. A Spanish retiree with pro-Russian sympathies was later convicted in the case.
The American School of Madrid remained open following the incident, though parents were asked to collect their children early. Staff at the school confirmed Portnov was a parent but declined further comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
Spanish police have not commented on possible motives but are not ruling out political or criminal links related to Portnov’s past.
According to Kyiv Independent’s sources, debt may be one of the working theories.
