Former Ukrainian Official Sanctioned by US Shot Dead Outside Madrid School

Spanish authorities confirmed an ongoing investigation is underway into the May 21 shooting of Andriy Portnov, a former aide to a former Ukrainian president.

Police officers cordon off the area after an adviser to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was shot outside a school in Madrid on May 21, 2025. Paul White/AP Photo

Andriy Portnov, a former senior Ukrainian official and political ally of the country’s previous president, Viktor Yanukovych, was shot and killed on the morning of May 21 outside a private school in the upscale Madrid suburb of Pozuelo de Alarcón, according to the Spainish Ministry of the Interior.

In an email to The Epoch Times, a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry confirmed that Spain’s National Police are investigating the murder of Portnov, a Ukrainian national.

The shooting took place at about 9:15 a.m. local time, after which authorities received a report of a man found with gunshot wounds on a public street. Officers from the Forensic Police and Homicide Group V responded and have taken charge of the investigation.

“The victim was shot several times as he was getting into a vehicle,” the ministry spokesperson said. “Several people shot him in the back and head and then fled the scene into a wooded area.”

Photos from the scene published by Spanish media show a body lying near a black Mercedes-Benz, close to the entrance of the American School of Madrid. The school sent a letter to parents saying the victim was believed to be a parent of enrolled students, police told the Spanish outlet El País.

Portnov, 51, served as deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration under Yanukovych before the 2014 revolution that removed the pro-Russian leader from power. He fled Ukraine for Russia following the uprising and was later investigated in Ukraine for treason and embezzlement. Those charges were eventually dropped.

Andriy Portnov, then Deputy Head of Presidential Administration of Viktor Yanukovych, attends a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 31, 2013. Stringer/Reuters

In 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned Portnov under Executive Order 13818 for alleged corruption. According to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at the time, Portnov “cultivated extensive connections to Ukraine’s judicial and law enforcement apparatus through bribery” and worked to “buy access and decisions in Ukraine’s courts.”

“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,” the sanction announcement reads.

“In mid-2019, Portnov colluded with a high-ranking Ukrainian government official to shape the country’s higher legal institutions to their advantage and influence Ukraine’s Constitutional Court. Additionally, Portnov has been involved in an attempt to influence the Ukrainian Prosecutor General.”

OFAC also sanctioned the Andriy Portnov Fund, stating that it was owned or controlled by him.

The Spanish Interior Ministry did not provide additional details on the possible motive or suspects in the case, and no arrests had been announced.

Reuters contributed to this report.