Denys Gennadievich Prokopenko is the commander of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov”.
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on June 27, 1991.
He received higher education at the Faculty of Germanic Philology of the Kyiv National Linguistic University.
Career
In 2014, with the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, he joined the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO), joining the Azov Separate Special Forces Detachment. Later , he went from platoon commander to company leader, and then the entire battalion.
In 2017, he headed Azov. The unit under his command was stationed in Mariupol, Donetsk region, and after the start of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation (RF), it took part in the defense of the city.
He took a direct part in the battles on the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant. On May 16, 2022, he received an order to stop the defense of Mariupol in order to save the lives of soldiers. After that, together with other defenders of the city, he was captured by the Russians.
In September 2022, as part of an exchange of prisoners of war, he was transferred to Turkey along with some other fighters. The agreement provided for their stay on Turkish territory until the end of the war. However, in July 2023, he returned to Ukraine with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after his visit to Turkey.
In August 2023, it became known about his return to military service. Later, he headed the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade.
In April 2025, it became known that Prokopenko headed the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov”. This corps included the 12th brigade.
On March 19, 2022, he received the title of Hero of Ukraine.
Marital Status
He is married to Kateryna Prokopenko.
