Former senior Ukrainian official Andriy Portnov was shot dead outside an American school in Madrid on Wednesday morning, Spanish and Ukrainian sources have confirmed.

The 51-year-old was attacked around 09:15 local time (07:15 GMT) in the Pozuelo de Alarcón area of the Spanish capital, shortly after dropping off his children at school.

According to witnesses, at least one gunman opened fire, shooting Portnov multiple times before escaping into a wooded area in a nearby public park. Spanish media described the attacker as a thin man wearing a blue tracksuit, possibly working with at least one accomplice on a motorcycle.

Emergency services reported that Portnov sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the back and head and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police cordoned off his black Mercedes vehicle as part of their investigation.

Spanish authorities deployed drones and a helicopter in search of the suspects, though no arrests had been made at the time of reporting. The school issued a statement reassuring parents that all students were safe following the incident.

Political Background

Portnov previously served as a Member of Parliament and deputy head of administration under former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted during the 2014 Euromaidan protests. Before aligning with Yanukovych, he had worked under former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Following the 2014 revolution in Ukraine, Portnov left the country but briefly returned in 2019 after President Volodymyr Zelensky's election, only to depart again shortly thereafter.

In 2021, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Portnov, accusing him of interfering with judicial reforms in Ukraine. He had also faced European Union sanctions but successfully challenged them in court.

Authorities have not yet disclosed any official information regarding the motive for the killing.

Pattern of Attacks

This incident bears similarities to previous attacks on foreign nationals in Spain. In 2018, a Colombian drug trafficker was fatally shot outside a British Council school in Madrid. More recently, in 2023, a Russian defector who had flown a helicopter to Ukraine was killed near Alicante, with Spanish investigators linking that attack to suspected Russian hitmen.

The investigation into Portnov's assassination is ongoing, with Spanish authorities continuing their search for the perpetrators.