Ukraine’s Azov brigade, designated by Russia as terrorists, returns to battle front

The Ukrainian National Guard’s Azov Brigade, banned in Russia and designated a terrorist organization, has returned to the front lines and started carrying out combat missions in the Serebriansky Forestry area near Kreminna, Luhansk region.

Mykola Urshalovych, acting director of the planning department at the main directorate of the National Guard, said: “The legendary special forces brigade Azov was reinstated and started to carry out combat missions in the Serebriansky Forestry area. Azov soldiers reliably hold the lines and inflict devastating losses on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment,” according to state news agency Ukrinform.

Urshalovych added that on August 15 the brigade's gunners destroyed a Russian mortar and BAT-2 engineering vehicle in the Serebriansky Forestry area. He noted that both targets had been struck by direct hits.

Additionally, the Azov Brigade released a video of the destruction of an infantry fighting vehicle of Russians in Zaporizhzhia direction. “The Azov Special Purpose Brigade is working in Zaporizhzhia direction,” the brigade said on Telegram.

The Ukrainian ministry of internal affairs had said earlier this month: “Soldiers of the Azov Brigade conducted tactical exercises. The main purpose of the tactical exercises is to work out practical issues of planning and organizing combat in offense and defense, commanding units in combat and their comprehensive support. The brigade commander Denys ‘Redis’ Prokopenko is also already in the ranks,” as cited by Ukrinform.

On July 31, National Guard Commander Oleksandr Pivnenko said that the five Azov commanders who were returned from Turkey to Ukraine on July 8 were preparing and would perform tasks like everyone else.

The five are: The commander of the Azov regiment Denis Prokopenko (Redis), his deputy Svyatoslav Palamar (Kalyna), senior officer Oleg Khomenko, acting commander of the 36th separate marine brigade Serhiy Volynsky (Volyna) and commander of the 12th brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine Denis Shleha returned home.

Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin had said earlier that the situation around the handover of the Azov commanders to Kyiv highlighted Turkey’s failure to fulfill its obligations on the issue, state news agency TASS reported.

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