Among influential law enforcement officers are 14 fellow countrymen of Tatarov who have long-standing ties with him - media. PHOTO

Skhemy journalists identified 14 law enforcement officers who come from the town of Novoukrainka in the Kirovohrad region, where Oleh Tatarov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, grew up, and who have a common career, academic path, or family ties with the high-ranking official and who now hold influential positions in the National Police and the SBI.

This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to Radio Liberty.

In addition to Maksym Tsutskiridze, who currently heads the Main Investigation Department of the National Police and whose friendship with Oleh Tatarov was previously known, Schemes journalists found many other old acquaintances of the Presidential Office's law enforcement supervisor: those who also come from Novoukrainka and now hold managerial positions in law enforcement agencies.

In particular, the journalists found out that Oleh Tatarov's brother, Andriy Melnychenko, holds an influential position in the Main Investigation Department of the National Police under the leadership of Maksym Tsutskiridze. He is the head of the Department for Investigation of Crimes Detected by the Department of Strategic Investigations and the Department of Cyber Police.

Melnichenko is 10 years younger than Tatarov. Like his elder brother, Melnichenko has chosen to pursue a career in law enforcement. In 2018, he was appointed a senior investigator for particularly important cases at the National Police. Two years later - in the year Tatarov was appointed to the OP - Melnychenko was transferred from Kyiv to Dnipro, where he was promoted to one of the top positions: he became deputy head of the Dnipro Police Investigation Department. And in 2024, he was promoted once again to head one of the departments of the General Directorate of the National Police of Ukraine.

Melnychenko wrote his PhD thesis at the National Academy of Internal Affairs under the supervision of his brother, Oleh Tatarov, and his opponent was another of their countrymen from Novoukrainskyi district, Artem Shevchyshen.

Artem Shevchyshen also works in the GSU of the National Police in a senior position - as deputy head of the Main Investigation Department, i.e. as a deputy of Maksym Tsutskiridze. Shevchyshen and Melnychenko (Tatarov's younger brother) have been friends since they studied at the Academy of Internal Affairs, as evidenced by their joint photos from that period published on social media.

Shevchyshen is a frequent co-author of scientific papers with both Tatarov and Tsutskiridze. All three are members of the editorial board of the scientific journal Criminal Justice Bulletin. Shevchyshen defended his PhD and doctoral theses under Tatarov's supervision.

Brothers Ihor and Viktor Luhovy are also from Novoukrainka. Viktor Luhovyi is currently the head of the National Police investigation for the entire Kyiv region. Ihor Luhovyi is an advisor to the head of the department for ensuring the work of the head of the National Police of Ukraine.

Ihor Luhovyi has joint publications with Tatarov, mainly on education in the police training system. Viktor Luhovyi, who heads the Kyiv Region Investigation Department, is an old friend of Andrii Melnychenko, the younger brother of the OP official. "Skhemy found their joint photos from a decade ago, published on Vkontakte.

Viktor Luhovyi also has two other law enforcement officers from Novoukrainka working in senior positions. In particular, his deputy, 29-year-old Vyacheslav Matviychuk. And also the head of one of the departments of the National Police of Kyiv region, 32-year-old Vitaliy Kushneryov, who wrote his dissertation under Tatarov's supervision.

Oleh and Oleksandr Tarasenko are two other high-ranking brothers from Novoukrainka. Oleksandr Tarasenko is the director of the Department of Education, Science and Sports at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and Oleh Tarasenko is the deputy head of the Migration Police Department at the National Police. Both have previously worked with Oleg Tatarov in the academic field.

"The 'schemes' also found influential 'Novoukrainians' in the Main Investigation Department of the State Bureau of Investigation. Among them are Vadym Zahamula and Stanislav Stratonov. Both are deputy heads of the Main Investigation Department of the State Bureau of Investigation. Both wrote their thesis under Tatarov's supervision.

The Schemes also found old acquaintances of the deputy head of the OP and his brother from Novoukrainka in the Kyiv office of the SBI. Among them: Artem Spuskanyuk, deputy head of the investigative department at the Kyiv SBI, who also defended his thesis under Tatarov's supervision. And Artem Kozachenko, a senior investigator at the Kyiv regional office of the State Bureau of Investigation, who, judging by numerous photos together on social media, is a youthful friend of Tatarov's brother, Andriy Melnychenko.

"Skhemy asked all these law enforcement officers: Do they continue to communicate with the high-ranking official from Bankova Street? Is there a possibility that the deputy head of the OP facilitated their appointment? Does Oleh Tatarov influence their work and, if so, how and in what form? Do they receive instructions or requests from him? And how can they, representatives of the law enforcement branch, guarantee their independence from political influence from the Presidential Office?

All four SBI employees mentioned in the article - Stratonov, Zahamula, Spuskanyuk, and Kozachenko - gave similar answers. They stated that they do not have any contacts with Tatarov and do not link their careers with him in any way and that they received their current positions through competitive selection. They claim that their independence is guaranteed by the law on the SBI. Officials from other law enforcement agencies did not respond to journalists' inquiries.

Schemes provides a complete list of all of Oleh Tatarov's fellow countrymen that we have identified, with whom he is connected by family ties or a common career or academic path:

National Police of Ukraine:

Maksym Tsutskiridze, First Deputy Head of the National Police of Ukraine, Head of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police
Artem Shevchyshen, one of the deputy heads of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine
Andrii Melnychenko, Head of the Department for Investigation of Crimes Detected by the Strategic Investigation Department and the Cyber Police Department of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine
Viktor Luhovyi, Deputy Head of the Main Department of the National Police in Kyiv Region - Head of Investigation of the National Police of Kyiv Region
Ihor Luhovyi, Advisor to the Head of the Department for Support of the Head of the National Police
Viacheslav Matviichuk, one of the deputy heads of the National Police investigation in the Kyiv region
Mykola Kliwniak, one of the deputy heads of the National Police investigation in the Kyiv region
Vitaliy Kushneryov, Head of the Department of the Main Department of the National Police in Kyiv Region
Oleh Tarasenko, Deputy Head of the Migration Police Department of the National Police, Professor of the Department of Operational and Investigative Activities of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine:

Vadym Zahamula, deputy head of a department of the Main Investigation Department of the State Bureau of Investigation
Stanislav Stratonov, deputy head of a department of the Main Investigation Department of the State Bureau of Investigation
Artem Spuskanyuk, Deputy Head of the Investigation Department of the Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigation in Kyiv
Artem Kozachenko, Senior Investigator of the Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigation in Kyiv

Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine: