Andrei Portnov’s murder leaves questions without a few answer and passion

Andrei Portnov’s murder was shocked in the Ukrainian suburb of Madrid, but it did not cause exactly a flow of sadness.

The former controversial official had just left his children at the American School when he was shot several times in the parking lot.

The image of his body without life was lying in the gym group as an end to a life synonym for Ukrainian corruption and Russian influence.

The media in Ukraine is discussing the repeated threats of the 51 -year -old for reporters, as well as his great influence under the last president of the country, Victor Yanukovic.

“A man who called for the killing of political opponents suddenly obtained what he wanted from others,” the reporter Olexander Holopov noted. The news site on the Internet, Ukrainska Braveda, described as “The Devil’s Advocate”.

The rare words came from the restraint of the Portnsov political competitor, Siri Flasinko, the deputy, who said: “You cannot kill people. When discussing the death of a person, we must remain a human being.”

Portnov was very controversial and widespread. The motives of his killing may seem clear, but his death still leaves unanswered questions.

Before entering the Ukrainian policy, Portnov managed a law firm. He was working with the then Minister of Leader Yulia Timoshenko until 2010, before he disagreed with the Yanukovic camp when he won the elections.

“It was a big story of betrayal,” says Ukrainian journalist Christina Berdinskik. “Because Tymoshenko was a political supporter of the West, and Yanukovic, supporting Russia.”

The counselor became the first vice president of the presidential office in the country and established a national criminal law in 2012. For him, his critics say that his rise was less than politics, more than power and influence.

“He was just a good lawyer, and everyone knew he was very smart,” Christina told me.

after The collapse of the Soviet Union in the early ninetiesUkraine inherited a judicial system in urgent need of reform. Mykhailo Zheranakov, a legal expert and head of the Dejure Foundation, believes that Portnov has re -formulated it in order to cover up illegal plans, and hide Russian attempts to control the country.

“The king, the mastermind and the architect of this corrupt legal system designed to serve the pro -Russian administration at the time was,” he says.

For a decade, Portnov was sued journalists who wrote negative stories about him through the courts and judges he controlled. His attempts to control the judicial system will lead to his approval by the United States.

At that time, Washington accused the consultant of putting loyal officials in high positions for his own benefit, as well as “buying court decisions.”

Portnov later continued the activists who participated in a field revolution in Ukraine, which Victor Yanukovic overthrew From power, and forced him to escape the country to Russia.

“He used sexual threats,” says Oksana Romanio, whose journalists’ interactions with Portnov say.

As director of the Collective Information Institute, she monitors freedom of expression in Ukraine.

Whenever a cursed report is published, the more familiar and consistently the reaction. “When people revealed his corruption, he accused them of fake news,” she says.

“Even when journalists had documents and certificates supporting these allegations, it was impossible to win lawsuits in court. It was impossible to defend yourself. It was a corrupt system.”

Andrei Portnov eventually settled in Moscow after his old president Yanukovic fled in 2014. Investigative correspondent Maxim Safshuk later achieved his relationships with Moscow, as well as the wide real estate portfolio there.

He recalls, “I responded to the words that I do not want to quote, and she was insulting to my mother,” “It is a feature of his personality; he is a very active person.”

Even after leaving Ukraine, Portnov is still trying to influence the Ukrainian policy by controlling the TV Kremlin Pro-Kremlin channel.

He returned in 2019, just to flee again with Wide -ranging in 2022.

Portnov’s paradox was eventually lost in Spain and sent his children to a prestigious American school to many.

Besides the unwanted joy in the death of Portnov, there was endless speculation about who was responsible.

“He could have been the Russians because he knew many things.”

He says: “He participated in many shaded Russian operations, and they may be they or other criminal groups. He managed to disturb many people,” he says.

Although the most obvious motives on this aspect of the border, the Ukrainian security sources seem to be trying to distance themselves from killing.

Kyiv has already assassinated the lands occupied by Russian and Russia itself, but not in Spain.

Some Spanish media reports indicate that his killing was not political, but rather “economic reasons or revenge.”

“You can imagine the number of people who need to be interrogated in order to narrow the suspects,” Maskym Savchuk believes. “Because this person has a thousand and one of the enemies.”

In Ukraine, Portnov is seen as a person who helped Russia to form the foundations of its invasion. There has been no general hatred only once since 2022.

Nevertheless, Mykhailo Zernakov hopes that his death is also an opportunity for broader judicial reforms.

“Just because he gold does not mean its effect,” he warns. “Because many people who appointed them or helped them get jobs still in the system.”

Additional reports by Hanna Chornos.