MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/. Andrey Portnov, a former advisor to Ukrainian ex-President Viktor Yanukovych (2010-2014), might have been killed out of fear that he would become too strong a player in the team of any of Vladimir Zelensky’s rivals in a presidential election, ex-member of the Ukrainian parliament Vladimir Oleinik opined.
"He was surely in a consulting business. I do not rule out that he might have consulted the notorious [businessman Igor] Kolomoisky (designated as an extremist and terrorist by Russia - TASS). He <..> even might have been on a team already, as Zelensky has been getting rid of his opponents," Oleinik from The Other Ukraine movement told TASS. "Judging from Portnov’s track record as a lawyer, he was a very smart team player. There might have been personal or financial motives, he might have failed to meet a certain obligation, or else that could be an attempt to remove potential [presidential] team members who would organize the work of a candidate," he explained.
According to Oleinik, Portnov was among the top 10 lawyers in Ukraine. In 2014, he strongly condemned the coup in Ukraine and communicated with the protesters.
Portnov was shot dead in Pozuelo de Alarcon, a wealthy suburb of Madrid, at about 9:15 a.m. local time (7:15 a.m. GMT) on Wednesday. The police are investigating the incident, but the attacker has not been caught so far, law enforcement officials told TASS. Local media give conflicting coverage of how many people may be behind the attack. According to the ABC newspaper, the shooting occurred after Portnov dropped his children off at an elite school, considered to be one of the best in the area. The police are looking into all possible motives, including financial, personal and political.