Explainer: Who is the main suspect in murder of ex-top official Portnov, and what was the motive?
Andriy Portnov, a former Ukrainian top official, was gunned down in Madrid on May 21, 2025.
The Spanish police reported on Feb. 25, 2026, that a suspect in Portnov's murder had been arrested in the German town of Heinsberg. The motives of the killing, however, remain unknown.
The detained suspect is linked to both Ukraine and Russia, according to an investigation by the Ukrainska Pravda media outlet published on Feb. 27.
The suspect's profile doesn't contradict the two main alleged motives — either that it was connected to Portnov's political or business dealings in Ukraine or to his more secretive links with Russia.
Portnov, a deputy head of pro-Russian ex-President Viktor Yanukovych's presidential administration in the early 2010s, remained an influential figure long after his ouster. The long list of enemies Portnov acquired throughout his career as a kingmaker and grey cardinal of Ukraine's unreformed judiciary is set to complicate the investigation.
Who is the main suspect?
The suspect is Ukrainian citizen Oleksandr Azizov, who was born in 1981 in the town of Shakhtarsk in Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing Ukrainian law enforcement sources.
The Schemes investigative journalism project reported on Feb. 27 that Azizov received a Russian passport in 2023, and it is still valid, according to leaks from Russian databases.
Azizov was a businessman engaging in fuel retail from 2005 to 2014.
In 2007, Azizov was on trial for allegedly making and carrying firearms, Ukrainska Pravda's sources said. However, no verdict was issued.
The same year, he and his brother Veli were convicted of illegal coal production, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
From 2014 to 2015, Azizov regularly contacted Pavlo Baranov, a member of the Union of Donbas Volunteers — a group of mercenaries who fought for Russia in eastern Ukraine, according to sources cited by Ukrainska Pravda.
He lived in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, starting from 2020, the media outlet reported, citing data from Russian internet service providers and healthcare facilities.
Azizov returned to Ukraine in 2021 and renewed a Ukrainian passport in Kharkiv, the sources said.
In 2021, Azizov was also accused of driving a car under the influence of drugs.
He was convicted of illegal cultivation of narcotic plants in Russia in 2024 and put on the country's wanted list, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Azizov's daughter Lyana lives in the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast and is a member of a Russian volunteer medic group, according to her social networks.
One of Azizov's alleged accomplices is his brother Veli, a Ukrainian citizen currently hiding in Russia, according to Ukrainska Pravda's sources. He received a Russian passport in 2024, but it is currently invalid, according to Schemes.
Veli Azizov lived in Kharkiv from 2022 to 2023 and founded an agribusiness in Kremenchuk, Poltava Oblast. He left Ukraine and entered Poland in 2023, according to the sources.
From 2018 to 2023, he constantly went back and forth between Ukraine, Russia, Poland, and Moldova, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Portnov's dealings in Ukraine
One of the versions being considered by Spanish investigators is that Portnov's murder was linked to his political or business dealings in Ukraine.
From 2010 to 2014, Portnov was the head of the judicial department of Yanukovych's administration and his deputy chief of staff.
Tetiana Shevchuk, an expert at the Anti-Corruption Action Center, told the Kyiv Independent that Portnov became the "gray cardinal of the entire judiciary" during the Yanukovych era.
"Portnov was tasked with bringing the courts under control," she said. "He carried this out in two ways. First, by directly pressuring judges in specific cases. Second, by restructuring the justice system in such a way that it became subordinate to the Presidential Administration."
After Yanukovych was ousted by the EuroMaidan Revolution in 2014, Portnov left Ukraine and moved to Vienna.
"Portnov fled, but his connections remained, and the system remained," Shevchuk said. "He continued to act as a kind of shadow broker."
When Zelensky was elected president in 2019, Portnov returned to Ukraine and reportedly increased his influence on the law enforcement and judicial system.
Shevchuk argued that Portnov "continued to make use of those connections, building various schemes there and, in effect, helping Zelensky's authorities resolve their legal issues."
Zelensky's press service did not respond to a request for comment.
Andriy Bohdan, who was Zelensky's chief of staff from 2019 to 2020, said then that he had been friends with Portnov for many years. He had also been an aide to Portnov from 2007 to 2009.
Zelensky's former Deputy Chief of Staff Andriy Smyrnov has also admitted being acquainted with Portnov and receiving his legal advice. He claimed, however, that he had not spoken to Portnov during Zelensky's presidency.
Another Portnov associate, Oleh Tatarov, was appointed as Zelensky's deputy chief of staff in charge of law enforcement in 2020. Tatarov had defended Portnov's interests as a lawyer after the EuroMaidan Revolution.
Portnov visited Ukraine on May 17-18, 2025, shortly before his murder, and met Tatarov and Oleksiy Sukhachov, head of the State Investigation Bureau, Ukrainska Pravda reported on May 29, 2025, citing four independent sources. Tatarov and Sukhachov did not respond to requests for comment.
Portnov's conflicts in Ukraine
Due to his influence, Portnov had many enemies in Ukraine.
Specifically, he had conflicts with Volodymyr Sivkovich, who was a deputy prime minister and deputy secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council under Yanukovych, as well as with Viktor Tatkov, who headed the High Commercial Court during Yanukovych's presidency, and his deputy Artur Yemelyanov, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
He also had conflicts or disagreements with oligarchs Ihor Kolomoisky and Kostyantyn Zhevago and the Ukrainian-Russian drug cartel KhimProm, Ukrainska Pravda reported in May 2025.
Portnov's political nemesis was ex-President Petro Poroshenko. After he lost the 2019 presidential election, Portnov initiated several criminal cases against Poroshenko.
Other versions
Portnov's pro-Russian and pro-Yanukovych activities have also earned him many enemies among patriotic Ukrainians.
Ukrainska Pravda reported that one of the versions being considered by Spanish investigators is the possible role of Ukrainian intelligence services.
During the full-scale invasion, a number of pro-Kremlin Ukrainians have been killed in Russia and Russian-occupied territories. These include lawmakers Oleksiy Kovalyov and Illya Kyva, propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky, and Russian collaborator Kyrylo Stremousov.
Another version being considered by Spanish investigators is that his murder could have been linked to Russia.
Analysts and commentators have argued that Russia's motive could have been to either discredit Ukraine by accusing Kyiv of Portnov's murder or to prevent Portnov from sharing some sensitive information linked to Russia with Western intelligence agencies.
