Ukraine: Andriy Portnov’s homicide leaves unanswered questions and little sympathy

Andriy Portnov’s homicide in a Madrid suburb might have been stunning, but it surely has not precisely triggered an outpouring of grief in Ukraine.

The controversial former official had simply dropped his youngsters off on the American School when he was shot a number of instances within the automobile park.

The picture of his lifeless physique mendacity face down in a fitness center package marked the tip of a life synonymous with Ukrainian corruption and Russian affect.

Ukraine’s media have been discussing the 51-year-old’s frequent threats to journalists, in addition to his big affect beneath the nation’s final pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych.

“A person who known as for the killing of political opponents all of the sudden acquired what he wished from others,” noticed reporter Oleksandr Holubov. News web site Ukrayinska Pravda even known as him “the satan’s advocate”.

Rare phrases of restraint got here from Portnov’s as soon as political rival Serhiy Vlasenko, an MP, who mentioned: “You cannot kill folks. When discussing somebody’s demise, we should stay human.”

Portnov was controversial and broadly disliked. The motives for his homicide could appear evident, however his demise has nonetheless left unanswered questions.

Before getting into Ukrainian politics, Portnov ran a regulation agency. He labored with then-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko till 2010, earlier than defecting to Yanukovych’s camp when he gained the election.

“It was an enormous story of betrayal,” remembers Ukrainian journalist Kristina Berdynskykh. “Because Tymoshenko was a pro-Western politician, and Yanukovych pro-Russian.”

The adviser grew to become the nation’s first deputy head of the Presidential Office and arrange a nationwide felony code in 2012. For him, his critics say, his ascent was much less about politics, and extra about energy and affect.

“He was only a good lawyer, everybody knew he was very sensible,” Kristina tells me.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Ukraine inherited a judicial system in determined want of reform. Mykhailo Zhernakov, a authorized professional and head of the Dejure Foundation believes Portnov remoulded it to ensure that the federal government to cowl up unlawful schemes, and to masks Russian makes an attempt to manage the nation.

“He was the kingpin, mastermind and architect of this corrupt authorized system designed to serve the pro-Russian administration on the time,” he says.

Over a decade, Portnov would sue journalists who wrote detrimental tales about him by means of the courts and judges he managed. His makes an attempt to manage the judicial system would result in him being sanctioned by the US.

At the time, Washington accused the adviser of inserting loyal officers in senior positions for his personal profit, in addition to “shopping for court docket choices”.

Portnov later pursued activists who took half in Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution, which toppled Viktor Yanukovych from energy, and compelled him to flee the nation to Russia.

“He used sexual threats,” says Oksana Romaniuk who remembers her and different journalists’ interactions with Portnov effectively.

As director of the Institute of Mass Information, she screens free speech in Ukraine.

Whenever a damning report was revealed, the response was acquainted and constant. “When folks uncovered his corruption, he accused them of faux information,” she says.

“Even when journalists had paperwork and testimonies backing up the allegations, it was unimaginable to win the lawsuits in court docket. It was unimaginable to defend your self. It was a rotten system.”

Andriy Portnov ultimately settled in Moscow after his previous boss Yanukovych fled in 2014. Investigative reporter Maksym Savchuk subsequently investigated his ties to Moscow, in addition to his in depth property portfolio there.

“He responded with phrases I do not wish to quote, derogatory ones about my mom,” he remembers. “It’s a trait of his character; he’s a really vindictive particular person.”

Even after leaving Ukraine, Portnov nonetheless tried to affect Ukrainian politics by taking management of pro-Kremlin TV channel NewsOne.

He returned in 2019, solely to flee once more with the full-scale invasion in 2022.

The irony of Portnov ultimately settling in Spain and sending his youngsters to a prestigious American faculty has not been misplaced on many.

Alongside the undisguised enjoyment of Portnov’s demise, there was countless hypothesis over who was accountable.

“It may have been the Russians as a result of he knew so many issues,” suggests authorized professional Mykhailo Zhernakov.

“He was concerned in so many shady Russian operations it may very well be them or different felony teams. He managed to harass lots of people,” he says.

Despite the motives being clearer on this facet of the border, Ukrainian safety sources look like making an attempt to distance themselves from the killing.

Kyiv has beforehand carried out assassinations in Russian-occupied territory and in Russia itself, however not in Spain.

Some Spanish media stories counsel his homicide was not political, however slightly over “financial causes or revenge”.

“You can think about how many individuals have to be interrogated with a view to slim down the suspects,” thinks Maskym Savchuk. “Because this particular person has a thousand and one enemies.”

In Ukraine, Portnov is seen as somebody who helped Russia type the foundations for its invasion. A as soon as normal dislike of him has solely been intensified since 2022.

Despite this, Mykhailo Zhernakov hopes his demise can also be a possibility for wider judicial reforms.

“Just as a result of he is gone doesn’t suggest his affect has,” he warns. “Because lots of the folks he appointed or helped get jobs are nonetheless within the system.”

Additional reporting by Hanna Chornous.