German authorities are considering the extradition of a suspect in the murder of the former deputy head of President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration, Andriy Portnov. This was reported by the Cologne prosecutor’s office to German media outlets DW and DPA.
The prosecutor’s office refused to disclose details of the case because “it is an extradition procedure with ongoing international involvement”. In what country may extradite the suspect, the prosecutor’s office also did not specify.
On the eve of the police in Spain reported the detention of a suspect in the murder of Portnov. It happened in Germany.
Ex-deputy head of the administration of former President Viktor Yanukovych Andriy Portnov was shot dead in Spain on 21 May 2025.
Since December 2021, Andriy Portnov, who was an adviser and then deputy chief of staff to former President Yanukovych, had been under US sanctions due to his influence on the courts.
From 27 August to 5 October 2018, Portnov ran the pro-Russian TV channel NewsOne. Internews Ukraine’s UkraineWorld project found in its 2020 research that Portnov actively tried to discredit Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity and further pro-European reforms in the country, as well as promote anti-Western agendas by engaging internet bots.
According to journalists of the Scheme programme, Andriy Portnov left Ukraine on 3 June 2022.