Latest news with #Pozuelo
The Independent
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Who is Andriy Portnov? Former Ukrainian politician killed on school run in Spain
A former Ukrainian politician and key aide to the ousted pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych has been killed. Andriy Portnov, 51, was gunned down on Wednesday morning outside the gates of the American School in Madrid's affluent neighbourhood of Pozuelo. Police received the call about the shooting at 9.15 am local time. Radio station Cadena SER said the man was taking his children to school when he was shot. Mr Portnov, from the eastern region of Luhansk, is a former Ukrainian politician closely tied to Yanukovych, having served as deputy head of the presidential office from 2010 to 2014. Yanukovych was Ukraine 's last pro-Russian president, who was ousted in 2014, following pro-democracy and pro-European Union protests, after he refused to sign an EU association pact, choosing instead to do an energy deal with Russia. During Yanukovych's presidency, Portnov was widely viewed as a pro-Kremlin political figure and was involved in drafting legislation, known as the 'laws of January 16', which were aimed at persecuting participants of the 2014 revolution in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian media, he later denied a role in their development but admitted to approving them for the then-president's signature. When Yanukovych fled Ukraine for Moscow that same year, effectively ending his premiership, Portnov reportedly followed him to the Russian capital. Portnov then faced numerous investigations and sanctions against him, both from Ukraine and the European Union. Ukraine's interior ministry labelled him a wanted person in 2015 but dropped the accusations a year later. The Council of the European Union slapped personal sanctions against him, along with 18 other associates of Yanukovych, but these were also later dropped due to a lack of evidence. He moved to Vienna, Austria, a year later, before eventually returning to Ukraine, where he ran a TV show criticising the presidency of Petro Poroshenko, the billionaire who assumed office after Yanukovych was ousted. In 2018, Ukraine's Security Service, or SBU, opened an investigation against him on suspicion of state treason, alleging his involvement in Russia's illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The criminal case was closed in 2019, and Portnov filed his own lawsuit demanding the allegations against him be treated as false. But in 2021, the US state department announced sweeping sanctions against Portnov, describing him as a 'court fixer'. 'Widely known as a court fixer, Portnov was credibly accused of using his influence to buy access and decisions in Ukraine's courts and undermining reform efforts,' the department said in a statement. 'As of 2019, Portnov took steps to control the Ukrainian judiciary, influence associated legislation, sought to place loyal officials in senior judiciary positions, and purchase court decisions.' They added that they believed Portnov had colluded with a high-ranking Ukrainian government official to shape the country's legal institutions to their advantage and influence Ukraine's Constitutional Court. He was also reportedly involved in an attempt to influence the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General.
Times
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Aide to ex-Ukrainian president shot dead at school in Madrid
A former Ukrainian politician was repeatedly shot in an execution-style murder as he left his children at a prestigious school in Madrid. Andriy Portnov was assassinated outside the gates of the American School of Madrid, in the affluent neighbourhood of Pozuelo. Police received the call about the shooting at 9.15am local time. Portnov was a senior aide to Ukraine's former president, Viktor Yanukovich, who was ousted in 2014. Police sources quoted by El Pais newspaper said that the man was driving a Mercedes when he was surprised by two or three attackers, who fired five shots in his head and back. The same sources alluded to a debt problem as the main hypothesis of the murder motive. But Portnov was investigated in his home country
Al Arabiya
21-05-2025
- Al Arabiya
Ukrainian ex-politician shot dead outside Madrid's American school, source says
An unidentified gunman or gunmen shot and killed former Ukrainian politician Andriy Portnov on Wednesday morning outside the gates of the American School in Madrid's affluent neighborhood of Pozuelo, a source close to the investigation said. Police received the call about the shooting at 9.15 a.m. (0715 GMT) local time, the Madrid police told Reuters, without identifying the victim. Radio station Cadena SER said the man was taking his children to the school when he was shot. Portnov was a senior aide to Ukraine's former President Viktor Yanukovich who was ousted in 2014.
Sky News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Former Ukrainian politician living abroad shot dead on school run
A man who served as an aide to a former Ukrainian president has been shot and killed in Madrid, local authorities have said. Unidentified gunmen shot former politician Andriy Portnov, 51, outside the gates of the American School of Madrid in the Pozuelo area of the Spanish capital on Wednesday morning, according to a source close to the investigation. "Several persons shot him in the back and the head", according to an Interior Ministry source, before they "fled towards a forest area". Police received the report at 7.15am local time and rushed to Calle America, where Mr Portnov is believed to have been taking his children to school, radio station Cadena SER said. Emergency service vehicles and a police cordon were pictured at the scene. Mr Portnov served as a senior aide to Ukraine 's former president Viktor Yanukovich before he was ousted in 2014. The pro-Russian leader was driven out by Ukraine's 2014 Orange Revolution - and has been living in exile in Russia ever since. Since Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, crimes have been committed against several high-profile Russians and Ukrainians in Spain, which has large ex-pat populations from both countries. In November and December 2022, six letter bombs were sent to targets across the country, to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid, as well as its US counterpart. A 76-year-old retired Spanish civil servant was jailed over the offences after his social media searches suggested he was sympathetic towards Russia's invasion. In April that year, a Russian businessman linked to the country's Novatek gas company was found dead with his wife and daughter, having all sustained stab wounds. In February last year, a Russian pilot who defected to the Ukrainian side was found dead with gunshot wounds in the car park of his apartment near Alicante. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
Sky News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Former politician and aide to ex-Ukrainian president shot dead in Madrid
A man who served as an aide to a former Ukrainian president has been shot and killed in Madrid, local authorities have said. An unidentified gunman - or gunmen - shot former politician Andriy Portnov outside the gates of an American school in the Pozuelo area of the Spanish capital on Wednesday morning, according to a source close to the investigation. Police received a report at 7.15am local time and rushed to the scene. Mr Andriy is believed to have been taking his children to school. He served as a senior aide to Ukraine's former president Viktor Yanukovich before he was ousted in 2014. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
