Ukrainian ex-politician shot dead outside Madrid’s American school

Former Ukrainian politician Andriy Portnov, who worked as a senior aide to pro-Russian former President Viktor Yanukovych, has been shot dead outside a school near the Spanish capital Madrid.

At least one unidentified attacker fired several shots at the victim before fleeing into a wooded area in a nearby public park, BBC reports.

Portnov had been an MP and deputy head in the administration of Viktor Yanukovych.

He had previously been an MP in Yulia Tymoshenko's governing party.

He left Ukraine after the revolution only to return in 2019 after Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president.

He then left Ukraine again, and in 2021 was sanctioned by the US Treasury, which said he had been "widely known as a court fixer" who had taken steps to control the judiciary and undermine reform efforts, BBC reports.

But the motive behind the attack is not yet known. Emergency services at the scene could only confirm that that Portnov had suffered several bullet wounds in the back and the head.