A UKRAINIAN politician has been shot dead in Madrid while taking his daughter to school years after his pro-Russia party was ousted from power.
Andriy Portnov, 51, was gunned down on Wednesday morning in Madrid where he lived after his pro-Russia party was overthrown in Ukraine.
According to Radio station Cadena SER, the ex-politician was killed near the entrance of the American School in the upscale neighborhood of Pozuelo in Madrid, where he was leaving his daughter.
Police received the call about the shooting at 9.15 am local time.
Portnov was a senior aide to Ukraine’s disgraced pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovich, who led the country from 2010 to 2014 before being ousted.
He played a key role in the former president’s election team before the 2010 victory – but fled Ukraine after 2014.
Portnov’s body was still at the scene almost two hours after the shooting, and will be only be removed following authorisation from a judge.
He is understood to have been shot five times as he dropped his daughter off at the school.
It was reported in July 2022 Portnov had left Ukraine despite a travel ban for military-age males.
It was not immediately clear how long he had been living in Spain.
In 2014, President Viktor Yanukovich was removed from office after numerous protests and the events known as the Revolution of Dignity, although he had previously held the position of prime minister multiple times.
Since then, Yanukovich has lived in exile in Russia.
