Security and Defense Forces confirm Portnov's murder – source

Sources within Ukraine’s Security and Defense Forces confirmed this information to Ukrinform.

"We confirm the fact," the source stated.

Earlier, Reuters reported that Portnov was shot dead in the Spanish capital, citing sources.

According to the agency, on Wednesday morning, an unidentified gunman opened fire at the entrance of the American School in Madrid’s Pozuelo district, killing Portnov.

Portnov previously served as the first deputy head of the Presidential Administration under Viktor Yanukovych from 2011 to 2014. He was also a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the fifth and sixth convocation.

He played a role in the adoption of the controversial "January 16 laws," which restricted civil liberties and labeled activists as "extremists" and "foreign agents."

In 2018, he headed the pro-Russian television channel NewsOne.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) investigated Portnov’s possible involvement in Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014. In March 2018, a criminal case was opened against him for "high treason," but a year later, the court ruled the accusations unreliable, leading to the case's closure.

Since 2021, Portnov has been under U.S. sanctions due to his involvement in large-scale corruption in Ukraine. He left Ukraine in June 2022.