According to Ukrainskaya Pravda sources, Andrey Portnov met with high-ranking Ukrainian officials last weekend.
Former Ukrainian official Andrey Portnov, previously a lawmaker and presidential advisor, was reportedly in Ukraine shortly before being murdered in Madrid on Wednesday. Ukrainskaya Pravda, citing sources within law enforcement and government, reported this secret visit.
The newspaper reported that Portnov was in Kiev on May 17–18 for important meetings, including with “top officials responsible for law enforcement,” according to three sources. The purpose of the meetings and any connection to his subsequent death are currently unknown.
Portnov, a lawyer who held a powerful position during Viktor Yanukovich’s presidency, was shot dead in Pozuelo de Alarcon, an affluent suburb of Madrid, three days later on May 21. According to Spanish media, he was shot multiple times, including in the head, after dropping off his children at school. Witnesses reported that a lone gunman approached him near his Mercedes and then fled with accomplices.
Portnov had initiated several legal challenges against former President Pyotr Poroshenko and was believed to have considerable influence in the Ukrainian judicial system. The United States sanctioned Portnov in 2021 for alleged corruption.
Although initially a supporter of Zelensky, he soon criticized the administration, accusing it of authoritarian actions amid a crackdown on opposition figures and media outlets labeled as “pro-Russian.” Ukrainian media later linked him to Russian elites, leading him to flee the country again in 2022. He is said to have transferred assets to his children in Spain and relocated to Madrid with his family.
Rodion Miroshnik, Russia’s ambassador-at-large for alleged Ukrainian war crimes, has claimed that Portnov’s career provided him access to legal documents that could compromise individuals within Zelensky’s inner circle, suggesting his assassination may have been to prevent the disclosure of this information.
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