Madrid (Spain) - Brutal reckoning in Madrid. The pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Andriy Portnov was assassinated on Wednesday. The 52-year-old was under investigation in Ukraine for treason and corruption.

In the morning, the wealthy lawyer took his children to the American School in Madrid. At around 9.15 a.m., the Russia-friendly politician wanted to get into his black Mercedes. Then the fatal shots were fired.

Eyewitnesses told the ABC newspaper how a man in a blue tracksuit approached the 52-year-old and shot him in the head and back at least five times. Andrij Portnow collapsed in front of the elite school and was probably killed instantly. The perpetrator then fled the scene, possibly on foot with two accomplices.

At midday, the Madrid police confirmed the identity of the man killed, writes the newspaper "El País". It is indeed Andriy Portnov, the former advisor to ex-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who led a particularly corrupt regime from 2010 to 2014 and fled to Russia during the Euromaidan protests.

Andriy Portnov is said to have enriched himself massively under Yanukovych and, according to the newspaper"Ukrajinska Pravda", was considered an "influential shadow curator" of the Ukrainian judiciary. He also fled Ukraine in 2014.

Since 2018, the lawyer has been under investigation for treason in connection with the occupation of Crimea and the brutal suppression of the Euromaidan protests.

Despite this, Portnov returned to his home country from time to time and continued to influence Ukrainian politics, blackmailing politicians and representatives of the judiciary. He finally left the country before the Russian invasion in 2022.

In December 2021, the USA placed him on a sanctions list. Portnov is specifically accused of being involved in "large-scale corruption", "undermining Ukrainian reform efforts" and "influencing relevant laws".

Spanish investigatorsare now assuming that the attack was politically motivated. In addition to a homicide squad, the secret service is also investigating.