Commander of the 1st National Guard Corps of Ukraine, Brigadier General Denys Prokopenko (call sign "Redis"), has made a public statement commenting on the resonant events in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka near Kyiv. According to him, the information campaign that unfolded around the incident serves the interests of the Russian side and aims to destabilize the situation inside Ukraine. Prokopenko emphasized that all units of the corps — battalions, regiments, and brigades — are on the front lines performing combat missions around the clock, and he himself is constantly at the front with his personnel.
Information pressure as an enemy tool
At the center of the Azov commander's statement is the thesis that what is happening in the information space regarding the events in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka "satisfies all the demands of the Russians." In his assessment, Moscow is interested in splitting Ukrainian society and the armed forces, destabilizing the situation in the country, and blackening the image of the Ukrainian military. Prokopenko linked this to a broader logic of information influence, in which situations are created in the rear that, in his belief, could benefit the enemy.
Call to action: Defend the front or help it in the rear
The corps commander divided citizens into those who serve or help the defense forces and those who, in his words, engage in "sabotage" and the discreditation of the Ukrainian military in the rear. "In this situation, you either need to defend the country at the front or help the front in the rear, rather than staging provocations and playing into the enemy's hands," he stated. Prokopenko also recalled that the Azov Corps has been defending Ukraine for 13 years and stated that he will not allow "anyone to tarnish the honor of the Ukrainian army."
Context: What happened in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka
On November 2, local residents gathered near a private house in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka. Reports appeared online claiming that men who had arbitrarily left military units were allegedly being kept in the basement of the house. Later, National Guard Commander Oleksandr Pivnenko confirmed that National Guard servicemen found after unauthorized abandonment of their unit were indeed inside the house. Thus, Prokopenko's public statement came against the backdrop of the fact of servicemen being in the house already confirmed at the National Guard leadership level.
Internal investigation and promise of accountability
Following the incident, the National Guard announced an internal investigation and promised to punish those responsible. This circumstance is important for understanding the tone of Prokopenko's statement: he essentially interprets the resonance around the house as an element of external information pressure, while an internal review mechanism has already been launched within the agency. The combination of these steps — the public position of the corps commander and the internal investigation in the National Guard — forms the official reaction to an event that, according to Prokopenko's assessment, is being used by the enemy to divide society and the army.
