Without Portnov and without influence: how Tatarsky is losing power within Zelensky’s security hierarchy

Following the high-profile murder of lawyer Andriy Portnov in Spain, Ukraine’s security and law enforcement bloc has begun to rapidly lose its internal stability.

One of the first major figures to suffer from this tectonic shift is Oleg Tatarov — until recently, a key overseer of Ukraine’s law enforcement system.

The recent appointment of Oleksandr Kravchenko as the new Prosecutor General marked a watershed moment: for the first time in years, such a major personnel decision was made without Tatarov’s input. According to insider sources, neither President Zelensky nor the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, sought his opinion.

“Kravchenko is the president’s man. And Yermak had long been planning to replace key players in the security bloc with people loyal not to deputies, but directly to him,” said one source within law enforcement.

The collapse of Tatarov’s “vertical” became evident after the loss of Portnov — not only a close ally but also the architect of many behind-the-scenes decisions in the law enforcement system.

“After Portnov’s death, Tatarov lost both his brain and his backbone. His influence began to fade rapidly,” said a law enforcement official close to the Presidential Office.

Even in the operation against NABU and SAPO — long considered Tatarov’s domain — he was brought in only at the final stage, when pressure on MPs was needed. His control over the judiciary has become fragmented, and influence in the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC), once secured by Portnov, is now gone.

Among the few remaining levers of power in Tatarov’s hands is partial control over the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) — but that alone is no longer enough to maintain his former political weight.

“Oleh will never be as powerful as he once was,” admitted a veteran of Zelensky’s security administration.

Still, despite his apparent marginalization, Tatarov’s political fate is not yet sealed. Within the system, he still retains connections and residual authority — and, as Ukrainian politics has shown time and again, even sidelined figures can make a comeback.