Latest news with #proKremlin
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.
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Who is Andriy Porntnov? 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.
Reuters
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
EU sanctions three pro-Kremlin activists identified by Reuters
BERLIN, May 20 (Reuters) - The European Union on Tuesday announced sanctions against three pro-Russia activists whose activities promoting the Kremlin's agenda inside Germany were first revealed in a Reuters investigation in 2023. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Elena Kolbasnikova and her husband Max Schlund have been organising pro-Kremlin rallies in Germany to urge Berlin to abandon its military support for Kyiv. In the sanctions listing, the EU said both Kolbasnikova and Schlund, who also goes by the name of Rostislav Teslyuk, had taken part in "destabilising activities". It said Kolbasnikova had promoted "violent acts" committed by her husband including organising car rallies to "intimidate Ukrainian minors" who were seeking refuge in Germany. The listing said the couple had close ties with, and were financially supported by, Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian government cultural promotion agency. The sanctions mean any assets the three targeted activists - including a Russian associate of Kolbasnikova and Schlund - have inside the EU will be frozen, and they will be barred from entering any of the bloc's member countries. On a public Telegram group run by both Kolbasnikova and Schlund, the pair denounced the sanctions. "PEOPLE WHO FIGHT FOR PEACE ARE BEING SUBJECT TO SANCTIONS," they wrote. "IDIOCY." When reached by phone for comment on Tuesday, Schlund told the Reuters reporter to "fuck off" before hanging up. Reuters first reported on the couple in 2023, detailing how they were at the centre of an effort in Germany to turn public opinion against the German government's continued support for Ukraine. In its report, Reuters revealed how the couple had received plane tickets from a Russian cultural promotion body that is part of Rossotrudnitschestwo to travel to a forum for civil society activists in Moscow that was co-organised by the Russian government. Kolbasnikova and Schlund left Germany last year after they said authorities there had barred them from re-entering the country. The sanctions listing on Tuesday said a criminal investigation against the pair over their alleged support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's Donbas region was ongoing. Reuters in 2023 also reported that the couple had donated funds to a Russian army division fighting in Ukraine, and that it had used the money to purchase walkie-talkie radios, headphones and telephones. In the same listing, Europe also imposed sanctions on Andrei Kharkovsky, a Russian citizen residing in Germany who is a member of a Cossack organisation endorsed by the Kremlin. In the 2023 report, Reuters wrote that Kharkovsky provided security for Kolbasnikova and Schlund at pro-Moscow rallies they held in Germany. The listing said the group Kharkovsky was part of, the Union of Cossack Warriors of Russia and Abroad, was linked to the Kremlin and accused it of supporting pro-Russian separatists. Reuters was not immediately able to reach Kharkovsky for comment.
