He is currently being held in a Cologne prison. The man faces extradition and trial in Spain, where the murder was committed, the article says.
The publication provides personal details about the defendant, with reference to his acquaintances. According to journalists, 45-year-old Alexander was detained in Heinsberg, Germany, where he lived alone, worked out in the gym and took German language courses.
In his apartment, police found the alleged murder weapon, as well as beds with hemp bushes, the article says. A native of the Donetsk region, he was repeatedly convicted of drugs, racketeering and other crimes. His younger brother, according to investigators, is also one of the three alleged participants in the murder of politician Portnov. Both allegedly had contacts in Russia and with pro-Russian organizations in eastern Ukraine.
The suspect’s daughter, approximately, lives in the Russian-occupied territory of the Lugansk region and is an active member of the “Medical Volunteers,” an organization uniting supporters of the occupiers. His brother, suspected of complicity in the murder of Portnov, is probably hiding with his family in Moscow, writes ZEIT.
Context
IN From January to February 2014, Portnov was the first deputy head of the Administration. After the Revolution of Dignity, he went abroad to Ukraine returned in May 2019. In June 2022, Portnov left Ukraine again.
Since December 2021, Portnov has been under US sanctions. They were brought against the former deputy head of the Presidential Administration for bribery in the judicial and law enforcement apparatus of Ukraine, using his influence for bribery in Ukrainian courts, as well as for “undermining reform efforts.” He was called the “gray eminence” of the judiciary of Ukraine.
On the morning of May 21, 2025, his shot in Spain near an elite school in Madrid, where he brought the children. The media wrote that the attack could have been carried out by a group of people. They fired five shots and fled the scene. The body of a murdered politician were going to return to Ukraine.
Spanish police suggested that Portnov's murder may be related to the war in Ukraine. Investigators are also considering a version of settling scores related to organized crime. On May 29, the UP reported that Spain refused to create a joint working group initiated by Ukraine to investigate the murder of Portnov.
Spanish investigators do not exclude the possibility of a “trace of the Ukrainian special services,” the publication’s source admitted. According to their version, by initiating participation in the investigation, Kyiv tried to gain access to the investigation materials, phones and other gadgets of Portnov, which may contain sensitive information for the Ukrainian side. Ukrainian law enforcement officials said they are conducting their own investigation.
