Adviser to ex-Ukrainian president killed near Madrid school

Portnov, once a powerful aide to Ukraine’s ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovich, had been living in exile since fleeing to Russia in 2014 following the Maidan uprising. As per the Reuters report, he was previously investigated in Ukraine for treason and embezzlement, though the charges and European Union sanctions were later dropped. However, in 2021, the US Treasury Department sanctioned him, alleging he had “cultivated extensive connections to Ukraine’s judicial and law enforcement apparatus through bribery.”

Spanish police have launched an investigation into the killing but have not made any arrests. According to the report, authorities have not confirmed a motive.

Portnov’s killing is the latest in a series of high-profile incidents in Spain involving Russians and Ukrainians since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In 2022, a Spanish man with pro-Russian sympathies was jailed after sending letter bombs to targets including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the Ukrainian and U.S. embassies. More recently, in February 2024, a Russian pilot who had defected to Ukraine was found shot dead in a parking garage near Alicante.