Spain's Interior Ministry on Wednesday said Andrii Portnov, an adviser to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, was killed outside a school in Madrid.

According to the police, they received a call about the shooting of a Ukrainian citizen near the elite American School of Madrid in Pozuelo de Alarcón at 9:15 a.m. local time (0715 GMT).

Police said Portnov was shot multiple times in the head and back by more than one gunman while getting into a vehicle. The attackers then fled toward a forested area, police added.

A man was found sprawled on the pavement near the school with fatal wounds "caused by at least three gunshots," said Encarna Fernandez, a spokeswoman for Madrid emergency services. 

"We could only confirm the death of this person," Fernandez added.

Local media reports state that he was killed after dropping his children off at school. A parking lot about 150 meters (500 feet) outside the gate of the American School of Madrid was cordoned off by police.

Portnov was a lawmaker in the 2000s and became deputy head of the presidential administration under Yanukovych, who fled to Russia in 2014 after cracking down on pro-EU protest movement that led to the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine.

During Yanukovych's presidency, Portnov was widely viewed as a pro-Russia political figure. He was involved in drafting legislation aimed at persecuting participants of the revolution.

After fleeing Ukraine in 2014, Portnov reportedly lived in Russia before moving to Austria in 2015. In 2018, Ukraine's Security Service, or SBU, opened an investigation against him on suspicion of state treason, alleging his involvement in Russia's illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula.

The criminal case was closed in 2019, and Portnov returned to Ukraine after the election of current President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The United States imposed sanctions on Portnov in 2021 for alleged corruption, stating that he used his influence in the judiciary and law enforcement to gain access to Ukrainian courts and undermine reform efforts.

According to media reports, Portnov used his connections to escape Ukraine again in 2022 despite the ban on men liable for military service from leaving the country during the Russian full-scale invasion.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, there have been several crimes involving high-profile Russian and Ukrainian figures in Spain, a country with significant expatriate populations from both nations.

In November and December of that year, six letter bombs were sent to high-profile targets throughout Spain, including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid, government offices, a European Union satellite company, and the US Embassy. A 76-year-old retired Spanish civil servant, who expressed sympathy for Russia on social media, was jailed for the offenses.

In April 2022, a Russian businessman with ties to the Russian gas company Novatek was found dead in an apparent suicide alongside his wife and daughter, who had suffered stab wounds.

In February 2024, a Russian pilot who had defected to Ukraine with his helicopter was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds in the parking garage of his apartment building near Alicante.

Edited by: Kieran Burke