Prykopenko has been appointed as the commander of the Azov forces as of September 13, 2023. His involvement with the Azov Battalion began in July 2014, during which he participated in numerous combat operations, including the battles for Marinka and Ilovaisk, and played a key role in the defense of Mariupol. He led the 1st Company during the offensive operations in the Pavlopil and Shyrokyne areas.
In 2017, at just 26 years old, Prykopenko became the commander of the Azov Regiment, making him the youngest regimental commander in the history of the National Guard and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In March 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded him the title of Hero of Ukraine.
By April 2025, he was appointed commander of the 1st Corps of the National Guard’s Azov unit, credited with transforming Azov from a volunteer battalion into a professional military formation.
At the end of August 2023, Zelensky noted the strengthening of Ukrainian positions in the Donetsk region thanks to the two revamped groupings under the command of Prykopenko and Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, commander of the 3rd Army Corps.
Background
- Prykopenko has been on the front lines since 2014. As a commander, he participated in the Pavlopil-Shyrokyne offensive operation in 2015 and the defensive battles at the Svitlodarsk Bulge in 2016. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion, he led the defense of Mariupol for 86 days while completely surrounded, according to the 1st Corps of the National Guard’s Azov unit. The entire garrison, trapped at Azovstal, surrendered to Russian forces on May 20, 2022, under orders from higher command.
- Leaders of the Azovstal defense, including Prykopenko, were released in September 2022.
- According to agreements, they were to remain in Turkey under the protection of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan until the end of the war. However, on July 8, 2023, Zelensky announced the return of all commanders to Ukraine.
- Prykopenko later returned to the front lines. On August 4, the Azov Brigade shared images from their tactical training sessions, which included Prykopenko.
- As of February 19, 2026, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko discussed a working trip to frontline communities in the Dnipropetrovsk region, where he met with Prykopenko, whose units are holding off the occupiers in that area.
