Brigadier General Denys Prokopenko takes command of new 'Azov' military grouping in Donetsk Oblast
Brigadier General Denys Prokopenko, known by his call sign 'Redis', officially took command of a newly created 'Azov' military grouping on 13 September 2026, the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine announced. It is one of two new groupings announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky to reinforce Ukrainian positions in Donetsk Oblast, with Andriy Biletsky slated to lead the parallel 'Center' grouping.
Key points
- Brigadier General Denys Prokopenko (call sign 'Redis') assumed command of the new 'Azov' military grouping on 13 September 2026.
- The grouping will operate in Donetsk Oblast and is one of two newly created formations announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- Andriy Biletsky, commander of the 3rd Army Corps, is to lead the parallel 'Center' (Tsentr) grouping while continuing to command the 3rd Army Corps.
- Prokopenko heads the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine 'Azov', a post he was appointed to on 7 April 2025.
- The 'Azov' grouping is to cover the Dobropillia direction and front sectors to the southwest of the city, with the 1st NGU Corps, part of the 7th Airborne Assault Corps, and the 9th Army Corps under its command.
- The 'Center' grouping will be responsible for the Lyman direction and the Kramatorsk-Kostiantynivka agglomeration, with the 3rd, 11th, and 19th Army Corps under its command.
- The announcement was made by the press service of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine 'Azov' on its Facebook page.
Why it matters
The appointment formalizes a new operational command structure on one of the war's most active front sectors, Donetsk Oblast. It places a politically and symbolically prominent commander — Hero of Ukraine Prokopenko, awarded for the defense of Mariupol — at the head of a regional grouping. The move is part of a broader restructuring of Ukrainian forces in Donetsk, where a parallel 'Center' grouping under Biletsky is also being established.
What happened
On 13 September 2026, Brigadier General Denys Prokopenko officially began performing the duties of commander of the newly created 'Azov' military grouping, the press service of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine 'Azov' said on Facebook. The grouping is designed to operate in the Donetsk direction and is one of two newly created formations that President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on 26 August to reinforce Ukrainian positions in Donetsk Oblast. The second grouping, called 'Center' (Tsentr), is to be led by 3rd Army Corps commander Andriy Biletsky, who will retain his corps command. According to reporting cited by Hromadske, the 'Azov' grouping under Prokopenko covers the Dobropillia direction and front sectors to the southwest of the city, bringing together the 1st Corps of the NGU, part of the 7th Corps of the Airborne Assault Forces, and the 9th Army Corps. The 'Center' grouping will cover the Lyman direction and the Kramatorsk-Kostiantynivka agglomeration with the 3rd, 11th, and 19th Army Corps.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All eleven sources cited are Ukrainian outlets — including Suspilne, hromadske, LIGA.net, Ukrainska Pravda, Ukrinform, NV, Novinarnia, Babel, Hromadske Radio, and ZN.UA — which treat the appointment as a domestic military-leadership story. Several headlines pair Prokopenko's surname with the informal 'Redis'. Coverage emphasizes his biography, his Hero of Ukraine title awarded by Zelensky during the Mariupol defense, and his transformation of Azov from a volunteer unit into a professional combat formation. Several outlets detail the operational split between Prokopenko's 'Azov' grouping and Biletsky's 'Center' grouping, including the specific directions and corps assigned to each.
Where reporting differs
Sources disagree on the date of President Zelensky's announcement creating the two new groupings: one source (Article 17044) cites 26 March, while the majority of other sources cite 26 August. Sources also vary on whether the start date of Prokopenko's command duties was given as 13 September 2026 specifically or as 13 September without a year; one source quotes the press service statement with the date 13 September 2026.
Background
Denys Prokopenko joined the Azov battalion in July 2014 and rose to regimental commander in 2017, becoming at age 26 the youngest regimental commander in the history of Ukraine's National Guard and Armed Forces. During the defense of Mariupol, President Zelensky awarded him the Hero of Ukraine title and the Order of the Gold Star on 19 March 2022. On 7 April 2025 he was appointed commander of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine 'Azov'. Under his leadership, Azov was reorganized from a volunteer unit into a professional combat formation, and in September 2026 the 425th Separate Assault Regiment 'Skelia' was placed under the operational subordination of the 1st Corps of the NGU 'Azov'. President Zelensky announced the creation of the two new groupings in Donetsk Oblast on 26 August, naming Heroes of Ukraine Prokopenko and Biletsky as their commanders; Biletsky is to continue leading the 3rd Army Corps alongside the 'Center' grouping.