Klimkin: Portnov could have been killed to sway Ukrainian elites

The murder of Andriy Portnov, a former associate of fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych, may be an attempt to "shake up the Ukrainian elites," believes Foreign Minister (2014-2019) and analyst Pavlo Klimkin. He spoke about this in the new episode of "Klimkin Explains" on the YouTube channel LIGA.net.

"You can pump Ukrainian elites and you can pump Ukrainian society. I think Putin will do both. But you have to agree, this is not the same thing. Is the murder of Portnov – whoever did it – an attempt to pump Ukrainian society and destabilize it? You have to agree, probably not. For most Ukrainians in real life – they have, of course, heard about Portnov, [but] does this affect their emotional tone, your emotional tone, my emotional tone? Probably not. We look at Russian actions on the front, we look at what is happening – it has a much greater impact," Klimkin said.

According to him, Portnov "knew a lot and communicated with a lot of people, was present at many processes" and had his own system of connections either directly with the Russian authorities or "with someone around the Kremlin."

Therefore, the expert believes, the murder of Portnov "could be something that might shake up the Ukrainian elites."

"Whether there was such an idea – I can't say. Again, we don't speculate on conspiracy theories, but in this sense it is quite possible. This could be some kind of signal, it could be a conscious attempt to bring this destabilization to the Ukrainian elites," Klimkin explained.

At the same time, he emphasized that the murder of Yanukovych's former associate cannot destabilize Ukrainian society itself.

"I would very clearly distinguish between the destabilization of Ukrainian elites and the destabilization of Ukrainian society. These are two interconnected, but nevertheless different processes. As far as I know, most serious analysts, whom I respect and who follow all processes very closely, adhere to this logic, with certain nuances, but with all that," the expert added.

Klimkin clarified that he uses the term Ukrainian elites in a broad sense, meaning the so-called "deepstate" – politicians, representatives of key institutions that ensure the functioning of the country, the leadership of the judicial branch of power, as well as businesses that "influence the existence of the state."

• Portnov was shot dead on May 21, 2025, in an elite area of Madrid: three out of five shots were fatal for him.
• The alleged killer may have had one or two accomplices – men on a motorcycle were seen near the crime scene.
• On May 22, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed LIGA.net that the Embassy of Ukraine in Spain is in contact with local law enforcement agencies in the case of Portnov's murder.
• On May 23, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiga said that Madrid had passed on information about Portnov's murder to Kyiv.
• The Ukrainian Pravda newspaper, citing its own sources, claimed that a few days before the murder, Yanukovych's former ally visited Ukraine and met with top officials responsible for the work of law enforcement agencies. There is currently no confirmation of this.