Former Yanukovych advisor murdered in Madrid suburb
Spanish police are investigating the activities of Andriy Portnov, an advisor to former pro-Russian Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych from 2010 to 2014, as a potential motive for his murder near Madrid on Wednesday, reported the newspaper "ABC".
Portnov was shot on Wednesday morning in the affluent area west of Madrid, Pozuelo de Alarcón, by unidentified assailants. The murder took place at fifteen minutes past 9 am, in front of the American school, where Portnov was dropping off his children.
The newspaper stated that the Ukrainian had been residing in the Spanish capital for just over a year. He operated a law firm there, providing advice to both Ukrainians and Russians, and "transferring company assets worth millions."
He facilitated business transactions for his fellow countrymen, as well as for Russians. Among them were people connected to Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, wrote "ABC".
The perpetrators of the murder, who fled into the surrounding forests of Pozuelo, are being sought. Police have not ruled out the possibility that they may have managed to leave the country.
According to "ABC", Spanish intelligence sources currently see no indications that the murder was politically motivated.
Portnov was on the EU blacklist
The Kremlin is attempting to use the murder for propaganda purposes, accusing the Kyiv government and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky of orchestrating it, noted the Madrid newspaper.
Portnov was an advisor to former pro-Russian Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych from 2010 to 2014. He was placed on the EU "blacklist" for embezzlement of state funds and human rights violations in Ukraine. Although he was cleared of charges, Ukrainian authorities maintained an interest in Portnov due to his pro-Russian leanings.
He was one of the authors of laws aimed at suppressing the Euromaidan protests in 2014 and was subsequently pursued for involvement in Russia's annexation of Crimea, recalled Spanish media.
