Latest news with #ex-Ukraine
First Post
24-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Pro-Russia ex-Ukraine MP Shot Dead in Suspected Targeted Killing Vantage with Palki Sharma
Pro-Russia ex-Ukraine MP Shot Dead in Suspected Targeted Killing | Vantage with Palki Sharma | N18G Pro-Russia ex-Ukraine MP Shot Dead in Suspected Targeted Killing | Vantage with Palki Sharma | N18G Unidentified gunmen shot dead Andriy Portnov, a former Ukrainian politician on Wednesday (May 21) outside a school in a wealthy suburb of Madrid. Portnov was previously a senior aide to pro-Russian former Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovich, who was ousted in a 2014 popular uprising. Portnov left for Russia in 2014 and faced investigations in Ukraine over accusations of treason and embezzlement. He was slapped with European Union sanctions, although those charges were later dropped. See More
Kuwait Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Ex-Ukraine MP shot dead near Madrid
POZUELO DE ALACRON, Spain: A picture taken on May 21, 2025 shows the body of ex-Ukraine MP Andrey (Andriy) Portnov after he was shot dead in front of his children school in Pozuelo de Alarcon, near Madrid. — AFP POZUELO DE ALACRON, Spain: A US-sanctioned Ukrainian ex-MP and senior aide to the country's former pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych was shot dead near Madrid on Wednesday, a Spanish police source told AFP. Officers rushed to the upmarket town of Pozuelo de Alarcon where several people shot a man in the back and head as he prepared to climb into a vehicle, the source said, identifying the victim as Andriy Portnov. The shooters then fled from the scene towards a wooded area, the source added, saying the attack struck outside an American private school at around 9:15 am. Madrid emergency services found a dead man sprawled on the pavement near the school with at least three gunshot wounds, spokeswoman Encarna Fernandez told reporters at the scene. Spanish media reported the victim had just dropped off his children at the school before he was killed. AFP journalists saw forensics officers take away a disfigured corpse wearing a white T-shirt soaked with blood. Armed police had cordoned off the area and a forensics team was collecting fingerprints from a black Mercedes. Alvaro Fernandez Garcia, a 22-year-old student who lives nearby, told AFP the shooting was "shocking". "We usually see this on the news, or in other countries," he added. Sanctioned for corruption Portnov was a lawmaker in the 2000s and became deputy head of the presidential administration under Yanukovych, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, before fleeing to Russia in 2014 after cracking down on pro-EU protests in Ukraine. Portnov lived in Russia and Austria before returning to his home country following the election of President Volodymyr Zelensky. The United States imposed sanctions on him in 2021 for alleged corruption, saying he had used his influence in the judiciary and law enforcement to buy access in Ukrainian courts and undermine reform efforts. He was also known in Ukraine for insulting and threatening journalists, as well as filing numerous lawsuits against media professionals. "It's hard to overstate Portnov's role in intimidating Ukrainian journalists and undermining freedom of speech in Ukraine," Anna Babinets, founder of investigative news outlet wrote on Facebook. According to media reports, he used his connections within the spheres of power to escape Ukraine again in 2022, despite a ban on men liable for military service leaving the country during the Russian invasion. Ukrainian authorities had not commented on the incident, but a military intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Portnov had been shot dead. Ukraine has claimed or been linked with several assassinations in Russia and Moscow-occupied parts of Ukraine since the start of the invasion in 2022, targeting political or military officials or ideological supporters of the war. Killings have also been attributed to Russia. In February 2024, the corpse of a helicopter pilot who had deserted the Russian military was found riddled with bullets near the Spanish coastal resort of Benidorm. El Pais daily reported that Spanish intelligence sources had "no doubt that the long arm of the Kremlin was behind this unprecedented crime". Spain hosts more than 300,000 Ukrainians, most of them beneficiaries of temporary protection granted after they fled the Russian invasion, according to government data. — AFP
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First Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
Pro-Russia ex-Ukraine MP Andriy Portnov shot dead near Madrid in suspected targeted killing
Several people shot Portnov in the back and head as he prepared to climb into a vehicle in the upmarket town of Pozuelo de Alarcon read more Police officers work near the body (L, behind tarp) of ex-Ukraine MP Andrey (Andriy) Portnov after he was shot dead in front of his children school in Pozuelo de Alarcon, near Madrid, on Wednesday. AP A US-sanctioned Ukrainian ex-MP and senior aide to the country's former pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych was shot dead near Madrid on Wednesday, a Spanish police source told AFP. Officers rushed to the scene in the upmarket town of Pozuelo de Alarcon where several people shot a man in the back and head as he prepared to climb into a vehicle, the source said, confirming the deceased person was Andriy Portnov. The shooters then fled from the scene towards a wooded area, the source added, saying the violence took place outside an American private school at around 9:15 am (0715 GMT). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Madrid emergency services found a man sprawled on the pavement near the school with fatal wounds caused by at least three gunshot wounds, spokeswoman Encarna Fernandez told reporters at the scene. 'We could only confirm the death of this person,' she added. Spanish media reported the victim had just dropped off his children at the school before he was killed. AFP journalists saw forensics officers take away a disfigured corpse wearing a white T-shirt soaked with blood. Armed police had cordoned off the area and a forensics team was collecting fingerprints from a black Mercedes. Ines, a student who lives near the school, told Telecinco television she heard several shots and 'a girl scream, then a very long car beep, and I got really frightened'. Sanctioned for corruption Portnov was a lawmaker in the 2000s and became deputy head of the presidential administration under Yanukovych, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, before fleeing to Russia in 2014 after cracking down on pro-EU protests in Ukraine. Portnov lived in Russia and Austria before returning to his home country following the election of President Volodymyr Zelensky. The United States imposed sanctions on him in 2021 for alleged corruption, saying he had used his influence in the judiciary and law enforcement to buy access in Ukrainian courts and undermine reform efforts. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to media reports, he used his connections within the spheres of power to escape Ukraine again in 2022, despite a ban on men liable for military service leaving the country during the Russian invasion. Ukrainian authorities had not commented on the incident, but a military intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity that Portnov had been shot dead. Ukraine has claimed or been linked with several assassinations in Russia and Moscow-occupied parts of Ukraine since the start of the invasion in 2022, targeting political or military officials or ideological supporters of the war. Killings have also been attributed to Russia. In February 2024, the corpse of a helicopter pilot who had deserted the Russian military was found riddled with bullets near the coastal resort of Benidorm. El Pais daily reported that Spanish intelligence sources had 'no doubt that the long arm of the Kremlin was behind this unprecedented crime'. Spain hosts more than 300,000 Ukrainians, most of them beneficiaries of temporary protection granted after they fled the Russian invasion, according to government data. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
New York Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Ukrainian ex-politician Andriy Portnov gunned down outside Spanish school
MADRID, May 21 – Unidentified gunmen shot dead a former Ukrainian politician on Wednesday outside a school in a wealthy suburb of Madrid, Spain's Interior Ministry said. Andriy Portnov, 51, was previously a senior aide to a pro-Russian former Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovich, who was ousted in a 2014 popular uprising. Police reached the scene after receiving calls at 9.15 a.m. (0715 GMT) about a man with gunshot wounds on the street outside the American School of Madrid, in the Pozuelo de Alarcon suburb west of the capital, police officials told Reuters. 4 Andriy Portnov then Deputy Head of Presidential Administration of Viktor Yanukovych, attends a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine October 31, 2013. REUTERS 4 A police officer stands guard near the spot where former Ukrainian politician Andriy Portnov, according to the Spain's Interior Ministry, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen, outside a school in a wealthy suburb of Madrid, in Madrid, Spain May 21, 2025. REUTERS 'Several persons shot him in the back and the head and then fled towards a forested area,' an Interior Ministry source said. When emergency services arrived they found Portnov dead with at least three gunshot wounds, a spokesperson said. Police had covered the body of a person wearing white running shoes lying near a black Mercedes-Benz car in a cordoned-off pavement outside the school. Portnov left for Russia in 2014 and faced investigations in Ukraine over accusations of treason and embezzlement. He was targeted with European Union sanctions, although those and the charges were later dropped. The U.S. Treasury Department put Portnov on its sanctions list in 2021, saying he had 'cultivated extensive connections to Ukraine's judicial and law enforcement apparatus through bribery'. The American School said it believed the victim was a father of children at the school but was waiting for formal identification by the police, according to a letter sent to parents seen by Reuters. 4 Police officers are seen next to the body of ex-Ukraine MP Andriy Portnov after he was shot dead in front of his children school in Pozuelo de Alarcon, near Madrid, on May 21, 2025. AFP via Getty Images 4 Police officers search for evidence at the scene of a shooting outside the American School of Madrid in Pozuelo de Alarcon, Madrid, Spain, 21 May 2025. BORJA SANCHEZ-TRILLO/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock It said police were on campus interviewing parents who witnessed the incident. A spokesperson for the school did not reply to a request for comment on the incident or the letter. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there have been several high-profile crimes related to Russia and Ukraine in Spain, which has significant expatriate communities from both countries. In 2022, a retired Spanish civil servant sent six letter bombs to targets around Spain, including to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the Ukrainian and U.S. embassies and government offices. Pompeyo Gonzalez Pascual was convicted and jailed for the offenses last year. In February 2024, a Russian pilot who had defected to Ukraine with his helicopter was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds in the parking garage of his apartment block near Alicante in southeastern Spain.
