Denys “Redis” Prokopenko, the commander of the Azov Brigade who was released from Russian captivity, will return to duty in the near future.

Oleksandr Pivnenko, Commander of the National Guard, announced this in an interview with the Ukrainian Pravda.

Responding to journalists’ questions about a possible ban on recruiting Azov officers, including their commander Denys Prokopenko, the commander explained that this was not true.

“Denys, he holds some position. They defended Mariupol, and some of them had tasks not as part of a brigade, but as part of a battalion of a tactical group. They are preparing and will perform their tasks, just like everyone else,” Pivnenko shared.

According to Pivnenko, Denys Prokopenko will probably return to duty within a month. It would depend on the situation at the front.

As previously reported, on September 21, 2022, Ukraine conducted several exchanges with the Russian Federation and released a total of 215 prisoners of war, 124 of them being officers. Those released included soldiers of the Azov Regiment.

The commanders of the Azov Regiment, Denys “Redis” Prokopenko, Svyatoslav “Kalyna” Palamar, and Oleh Khomenko, were released. They were to stay on the territory of Turkey until the end of the war under the guarantees of the country’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

However, already on July 8, 2023, the commanders of the Azov Brigade unexpectedly returned to Ukraine together with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. Government officials did not disclose details of the return, citing secrecy.

On July 16, Lt. Col. Denys Prokopenko met with the personnel of the Azov unit, which was reformed into a brigade, and announced that he would soon begin his duties.

“While in captivity, I said that for me, this war will not end until we return our last soldier from captivity and restore the borders of Ukraine to the state of 1991. I am a soldier. I am not interested in any other areas of activity, except military affairs. My heart, my soul, and my body belong to Azov,” he declared.

He stated that he plans to focus his efforts on combat training and re-equipment of the unit with personnel, equipment, and weapons.

Previously, in February of this year, the Azov Special Operations Detachment was expanded into a brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine.