Azov Brigade

The Azov Brigade is a special forces brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, the 12th Azov Brigade. The unit was formed from volunteers on 5 May 2014. Its commander is Denys Prokopenko, whom President Zelenskyy awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, 2nd class, in August 2025. Chief of Staff Krotevych spoke out against a truce with Russia in July 2024.

In May 2024, two years after the defenders of Mariupol left Azovstal, more than 1,900 of them were still in Russian captivity. In September 2023 Russia staged a “trial” of 24 Azov fighters in Rostov-on-Don, and in May 2025 no Azov soldiers were included in a large prisoner exchange. In June 2024 the United States lifted its ban on supplying American weapons to Azov, as the brigade’s commander had asked.

MykVisti covers Azov’s fighting, its soldiers in Russian captivity and decisions concerning the brigade.

• More than 1,900 soldiers from Azovstal are still in Russian captivity
• The USA canceled the ban on the transfer of American weapons to Azov