Head of Ukraine's National Guard says Azov commanders will join battles

Oleksandr Pivnenko, the commander of the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU), has made it clear that the commanders of Azov will be involved in further combat operations against Russian forces.

He made the statement in an interview with Ukrainka Pravda.

"Denys Prokopenko holds a position. They defended Mariupol, and some had tasks not as part of a brigade but as part of a battalion or a tactical group. They are preparing and will perform tasks like everyone else.

We are in the Defence Forces; there is a supreme commander-in-chief, there is a commander-in-chief, and there are directors of operational-strategic testing. Whoever needs help, they send, roughly speaking, in military language, a combat order to me, I carry it out, and that's it," he said.

Asked when Denys Prokopenko is likely to take part in combat operations, the NGU commander said: "Depends on the situation at the front. Maybe within a month. We'll see, we’ll wait, and life will tell".

On July 8, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that military commanders who defended the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol and then stayed in Türkiye as part of a prisoner swap after being released from Russian captivity were coming back to Ukraine from Türkiye.

Later, the presidential press service clarified that five commanders from Azovstal came back to Ukraine on Saturday following negotiations with Türkiye.

On September 21, 2022, as part of a prisoner swap with the Russian occupiers, 215 Ukrainian defenders were released, including Azovstal defenders Denys "Redis" Prokopenko, Serhii "Volyna" Volynskyi, Sviatoslav Palamar, Denys Shleha, and Oleh Khomenko. At the same time, Russia got Viktor Medvedchuk, his daughter's godfather is Putin, and 55 Russian occupiers.

The five Azov commanders were in Türkiye under personal guarantees of protection and security from President Erdoğan.

At the time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that, according to the agreements, the five released Azov commanders would stay in Türkiye until the end of the war. At the same time, Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, said that they would live in Türkiye for "a certain period of time".