Azov
Azov is a Ukrainian volunteer military unit, formed in 2014 as a special-purpose patrol police battalion in Mariupol. It was later reorganised and incorporated into the National Guard of Ukraine as a separate brigade. The brigade fought in the Donbas and played a central role in the defence of Mariupol, including the prolonged stand at the Azovstal steel plant after Russia's full-scale invasion. After prisoner exchanges and a period of restructuring, veterans of the unit formed a new formation in the Donetsk region, which is now commanded by Brigadier General Denys Prokopenko.
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Brigadier General Prokopenko takes command of new "Azov" grouping in Donetsk sector
Brigadier General Denys Prokopenko (call sign "Redis") formally took command of the newly created "Azov" military grouping on September 13, 2026. The formation, one of two new groupings announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky to reinforce Ukrainian positions in Donetsk Oblast, will operate in the Donetsk direction under the leadership of the commander of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine "Azov."