Denys Prokopenko
{{Short description|Ukrainian military commander (born 1991)}}
{{About|the Ukrainian Azov Regiment commander|the Kazakh football player|Denis Prokopenko}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = Hero of Ukraine
| name = Denys Prokopenko
| native_name = {{nobold|Денис Прокопенко}}
| native_name_lang = uk
| nickname = Ре́діс (Redis)
| image = Prokopenkodenys.jpg
| caption = Prokopenko during the defense of Azovstal, May 2022
| office = Commander of the Azov Brigade
| term_start = 17 July 2023
| term_end =
| predecessor = Maksym Zhorin
| successor =
| office1 =
| term_start1 =
| term_end1 =
| office2 =
| term_start2 =
| term_end2 =
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1991|6|20|df=yes}}
| birth_place =
| party =
| residence =
| spouse = Kateryna Prokopenko
| children =
| blank1 =
| data1 =
| citizenship =
| nationality = Ukrainian
| alma_mater = Kyiv National Linguistic University
National Defence University of Ukraine
| website =
| signature =
| allegiance = Ukraine
| branch = {{tree list}}
{{tree list/end}}
| serviceyears = 2014–present
| commands = Azov Brigade
| battles = {{tree list}}
{{tree list/end}}
| rank = Lieutenant Colonel
| mawards = {{plainlist |
}}
}}
Denys Hennadiyovych Prokopenko{{family name footnote|Hennadiyovych|Prokopenko|lang=Eastern Slavic}}{{efn|{{langx|uk|Дени́с Генна́дійович Прокопе́нко}}, {{IPA|uk|deˈnɪz ɦeˈnːɑd⁽ʲ⁾ijowɪtʃ prokoˈpɛnko|IPA}}.}} (born 27 June 1991) is a Ukrainian military officer who is a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard of Ukraine and commander of the 12th Special Forces Brigade "Azov",{{cite web |title=Azov Brigade commander meets with personnel, announces his return to service |url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3736591-azov-brigade-commander-meets-with-personnel-announces-his-return-to-service.html |website=Ukrinform |date=16 July 2023 |access-date=17 July 2023 |archive-date=16 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716212203/https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3736591-azov-brigade-commander-meets-with-personnel-announces-his-return-to-service.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web | url = https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/31/7439812/ | title = The future belongs to technology and infantry: Azov commander talks about the best weapons – video | publisher = Ukrainska Pravda | author = Tetyana Oliynuk | date = 2024-01-31 | access-date = 2024-02-12 | language = }} as well as a prominent participant of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
In response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Prokopenko rose as a leader defending Mariupol from the Russian siege, and commanded the Mariupol garrison. For his leadership role on the frontlines of the war, he was awarded the title Hero of Ukraine in March 2022.{{cite web|title=Змістовні переговори про мир і безпеку для України – єдиний шанс для Росії зменшити шкоду від власних помилок – звернення Президента Володимира Зеленського |url=https://www.president.gov.ua/news/zmistovni-peregovori-pro-mir-i-bezpeku-dlya-ukrayini-yedinij-73661 |date=2022-03-19 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220403223737/https://www.president.gov.ua/news/zmistovni-peregovori-pro-mir-i-bezpeku-dlya-ukrayini-yedinij-73661 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |language=uk |trans-title=Meaningful talks on peace and security for Ukraine are the only chance for Russia to reduce the damage from its own mistakes - address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy |access-date=9 April 2022 |url-status=live}}
Prokopenko is also known as Redis,{{efn|{{langx|uk|Ре́діс|link=no}}, {{IPA|uk|ˈrɛd⁽ʲ⁾is|IPA}}; {{lang-rus|Ре́дис|links=1|Rédis|ˈrʲedʲɪs}} (proper noun with stress on the first syllable—thus, contrary to some mistranslations, contrastive with {{langx|ru|реди́с|redís|radish|label=none}}, which is stressed on the final syllable).}} an old football ultra nickname that became his military call sign. His subordinates are reported to address him informally as "Brother Redis" or "Comrade Redis".{{efn|{{langx|uk|«Дру́же Ре́діс»|«Drúzhe Rédis»|link=no}}, {{IPA|uk|ˈdruʒe ˈrɛd⁽ʲ⁾is|IPA}}, {{lit|Friend Redis}}.}}
Biography
Since childhood, he has been involved in sports — football and martial arts. Before the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war, he was an active fan and ultra-supporter of the Kyiv football club Dynamo.{{Cite web | url = https://ua.tribuna.com/tribuna/blogs/nicefootball/3055312/#supertop | title = "He traveled all over Ukraine for Dynamo." The hero of "Azovstal" Radis is an ultras and a big fan of sports | publisher = UA.Tribuna.com | author = Iryna Kozyupa | date = 2023-07-08 | access-date = 2024-02-16 | language = uk}} For him, football is of particular importance because of its discipline, team spirit, and camaraderie. Together with his wife, he enjoys outdoor activities and during his vacations he would always go to the mountains to go skiing. His personal record is 91 km/h.
He graduated from the Department of Germanic Philology at Kyiv National Linguistic University, where he earned a degree with a specialty in teaching English. He also played sports, and was a member of the far-right White Boys Club football fan (known as "ultras") organization of the football club Dynamo Kyiv.{{cite web|date=13 June 2023|title=The Western Media Is Whitewashing the Azov Battalion|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/world/azov-battalion-neo-nazi/|author-last=Golinkin|author-first=Lev|access-date=3 July 2023|work=The Nation|quote=Prokopenko, for his part, came out of the White Boys Club, superfans of the Dynamo Kyiv soccer team (far-right groups organized around soccer teams are common across Europe), who celebrated him when he was given an award in October 2022. The group’s Facebook posts have typically included phrases like “100% White” and “88” (code for “Heil Hitler”), praise for Holocaust perpetrators, and Waffen-SS insignia.}}
In 2020, he entered the National Defense University of Ukraine (Command and Staff Institute for the Use of Troops), specializing in Combat Use and Control of Military Units of Mechanized and Tank Troops.{{Cite web | url = https://znaki.fm/uk/persons/denis-redis-prokopenko/ | title = Denys "Redis" Prokipenko - Biongaphy | publisher = Znaki | author = Vadym Koval | date = 2024-01-08 | access-date = 2024-02-16| language = uk}}
=Military career=
==War in Donbas==
From 11 July 2014 Prokopenko has participated in the war in Donbas, initially as an enlisted soldier and then as leader of a platoon and a company. In a July 2016 interview he described improvements in the military capabilities of his troops: “Although we lost a lot of experienced guys from the old squad, we've grown in quantity and quality. Discipline and combat efficiency have improved. We used to run with bobby pistols and sawn-off shots; now we have opportunities to work with tactical tank groups, armored vehicles, artillery support. We gradually developed our military science doctrine—starting with practice, not theory. In the course of training and fighting, the lads mastered tactics and small arms proficiency. Many new possibilities opened for us: we can operate independently on the frontlines, free of other subunits that constantly let us down in combat operations.”{{cite web
|title = Интервью Редиса
|url = https://nackor.org/ru/interv-yu-redisa
|date = 2016-07-20
|archive-url = https://archive.today/20220406045254/https://nackor.org/ru/interv-yu-redisa
|archive-date = 6 April 2022
|language = ru
|trans-title = Redis Interview
|access-date = 9 April 2022
|url-status = live
|title = Інтерв'ю Редіса
|url = https://nackor.org/ukr/interv-yu-redisa
|date = 2016-07-20
|archive-url = https://archive.today/20220404202428/https://nackor.org/ukr/interv-yu-redisa
|archive-date = 4 April 2022
|language = uk
|trans-title = Interview with Redis
|access-date = 9 April 2022
|url-status = live
}} In September 2017 he was promoted to the rank of major and given control of the Azov Regiment, becoming the youngest commander in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.{{Cite news |title=Экскурсия в "Азов". Один день с украинским полком спецназначения |url=https://www.svoboda.org/a/29308146.html |access-date=2022-06-12 |website=Радио Свобода |date=22 June 2018 |language=ru|last1=Исак |first1=Александр }}
==Defence of Mariupol==
{{Broader|Siege of Mariupol}}
File:Major Denys Prokopenko.png, Major Prokopenko recorded a video message on 7 March exhorting the international community to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine, and warning of an impending humanitarian crisis.]]
Following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Prokopenko recorded a video message on 7 March 2022 in which he called for closing the skies over Ukraine to help avert humanitarian collapse in Mariupol, since “the enemy is breaking the rules of the war by shelling the civilian people and destroying the infrastructure of the city; the enemy is subjecting Mariupol to another genocide.”{{cite AV media |date=7 March 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajKa2X_-Q74 |title=Official appeal of Azov commander, the major Denis Prokopenko, to the world community |publisher=Національний Корпус |via=YouTube |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318073121/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajKa2X_-Q74 |archive-date=18 March 2022 |url-status=live}}{{cite web
|title = Командир полку "Азов" закликає закрити небо над Україною
|url = https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-ato/3423054-komandir-polku-azov-zaklikae-zakriti-nebo-nad-ukrainou.html
|date = 2022-03-07
|archive-url = https://archive.today/20220403234912/https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-ato/3423054-komandir-polku-azov-zaklikae-zakriti-nebo-nad-ukrainou.html
|archive-date = 3 April 2022
|language = uk
|trans-title = Commander of the Azov Regiment calls for closing the skies over Ukraine
|access-date = 9 April 2022
|url-status = live
}}
On 19 March 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded the title Hero of Ukraine to the commanders of two units that led the defense of Mariupol: Prokopenko and the commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, Colonel Volodymyr Baranyuk. Major Denis Prokopenko received the highest honor “for bravery, for effective tactics to repel enemy attacks, and for protection of the hero city of Mariupol.”{{cite web
|title = Указ Президента України №148/2022 — «Про присвоєння звання Герой України»
|url = https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/1482022-41745
|date = 2022-03-19
|archive-url = https://archive.today/20220406202833/https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/1482022-41745
|archive-date = 6 April 2022
|language = uk
|trans-title = Decree of the President of Ukraine №148 / 2022 - "On conferring the title of Hero of Ukraine"
|access-date = 9 April 2022
|url-status = live
|title = Ультрас Динамо отримав звання "Героя України" - Футбол 24
|url = https://football24.ua/ultras_dinamo_otrimav_zvannya_geroya_ukrayini_n715283/
|date = 2022-03-20
|archive-url = https://archive.today/20220404002637/https://football24.ua/ultras_dinamo_otrimav_zvannya_geroya_ukrayini_n715283/
|archive-date = 4 April 2022
|language = uk
|trans-title = Ultras Dynamo received title "Hero of Ukraine" - Football 24
|access-date = 9 April 2022
|url-status = live
}}
On 12 April 2022, Prokopenko appeared in a video message, to report on charges that Russian chemical weapons had been dropped onto Mariupol in a drone attack: “Yesterday the occupiers used a poisonous substance of unknown origin against military and civilians in Mariupol. The epicenter of the attack was not near the people, so contact with the substance was minimal, which possibly saved lives—but there are still consequences. Currently it's impossible to find out what substance poisoned people, because we are under complete blockade, and the site of the attack is under fire by the Russians to hide evidence of their crime.” Regardless of the sudden international focus on the chemical attack, he went on to claim that thousands of civilians in the city had been killed and continued to be slaughtered by constant ongoing Russian airstrikes, naval bombardment, heavy flamethrower systems, artillery, and phosphorus munitions.{{cite AV media |date=12 April 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TfszjNsx-k |title=Росія ЗДІЙСНИЛА хімічну атаку по Маріуполю – є постраждалі серед цивільних і військових |publisher=Національний Корпус |via=YouTube |access-date=12 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413023410/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TfszjNsx-k |archive-date=13 April 2022 |url-status=live|trans-title= Russia carried out a chemical attack on Mariupol - there are casualties among civilians and military}}{{primary source inline|date=April 2022}} On 13 April 2022, it was confirmed by the official Twitter account of the Azov regiment that Prokopenko was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel.{{cite AV media |date=13 April 2022 |url=https://twitter.com/Polk_Azov/status/1514290255964344331 |title=Address by the Commander of the Azov Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Denis Prokopenko, to the world community |publisher=@Polk_Azov |via=Twitter |access-date=14 April 2022}}
On 11 May 2022, Pope Francis met in the Vatican with the wives of Azov Regiment soldiers Kateryna Prokopenko and Yulia Fedosiuk.Nicole Winfield, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/wives-of-mariupol-defenders-to-pope-you-are-our-last-hope/2022/05/11/4b1ab7c2-d138-11ec-886b-df76183d233f%20story.html Wives of Mariupol defenders to pope: 'You are our last hope'] // The Washington Post, 11.5.2022.Nick Squires, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/05/11/wives-soldiers-trapped-azovstal-plant-beg-pope-francis-talk/ Azovstal wives beg Pope Francis to ‘talk to Putin and save our husbands’] // The Daily Telegraph. — 11.5.2022.Wives of Mariupol defenders appeal for soldiers' evacuation // The Washington Post, 30.4.2022.{{YouTube|C6EUJXJ8ot0|Wives of Mariupol defenders appeal for evacuation}} // Associated Press, 30.4.2022.[https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-druzhyny-azov-papa/31845220.html Папа Римський зустрівся з дружинами бійців полку «Азов», заблокованих у Маріуполі] // Радіо Свобода, 11.5.2022. On 16 May 2022, a social media post was released by Prokopenko stating: "In order to save lives, the entire Mariupol garrison is implementing the approved decision of the Supreme Military Command and hopes for the support of the Ukrainian people." This statement follows Russia's decision to "evacuate" wounded Ukrainian soldiers from the Azovstal plant and for them to be taken to the DPR-controlled town of Novoazovsk for treatment.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-16 |title=Azovstal defenders appear to signal end of siege|url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-706815|access-date=2022-05-15 |website=The Jerusalem Post |language=en}}
== Captivity ==
On 20 May 2022, he surrendered to the Russian military along with the last defenders of the Azovstal plant, after stating in a final video message on Telegram: "The higher military command has given the order to save the lives of the soldiers of our garrison and to stop defending the city." Since the Russian Duma was attempting to classify Azov as a terrorist organization, the question of whether Russia considered Prokopenko as a prisoner of war (POW) remained in doubt.{{cite web |date=2022-05-21 |url=https://www.rbc.ru/politics/20/05/2022/6287d2e09a7947798d1258b5|title=На "Азовстали" сдался командир батальона "Азов"|work=RBS|language=ru}}{{Cite web |date=2022-05-21 |title=Russian army takes control of Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/20/russian-army-takes-control-of-mariupols-azovstal-steel-plant|access-date=2022-05-21 |website=the Guardian |language=en}} On 24 May, his wife Kateryna confirmed that he was in Russian captivity and that she had been able to talk to him on the phone.[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/24/ukrainian-soldiers-captured-at-azovstal-plant-in-satisfactory-conditions Ukrainian soldiers captured at Azovstal plant in ‘satisfactory’ conditions]
== Exchange ==
On 21 September 2022, Prokopenko was released in a prisoner swap.{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-tv-russia-has-released-some-fighters-taken-during-mariupol-battle-2022-09-21/ | title=Russia frees 215 Ukrainians held after Mariupol battle, Ukraine says | newspaper=Reuters | date=22 September 2022 | last1=Ljunggren | first1=David }} Under the agreement, Prokopenko and four other top Ukrainian commanders from the Azovstal siege were required to stay in Turkey until the end of the war.{{cite news | url=https://www.ft.com/content/1f4a2628-6466-44bf-b251-b8434515edb8 | title=Ukrainians celebrate prisoner swap as Russian nationalists fume | newspaper=Financial Times | date=22 September 2022}}
In a May 2023 interview, Kateryna Prokopenko gave details of her husband's stay in Turkey: "They are at a closed security facility. Even we do not know where exactly. They are not at a resort or sea. They have a certain regime, regulated calls, a schedule. They are not being tortured like in Russia, but, nevertheless, they are not completely free." She said that while she was grateful for the deal that got Denys out of Russian captivity, she expressed hope that he would return to Ukraine soon.{{cite news|url=https://www.ukrinform.net/amp/rubric-ato/3711808-leadership-of-azov-brigade-stays-at-closed-security-facility-in-turkey-wife-of-prokopenko.html|title=Leadership of Azov Brigade stays at closed security facility in Turkey - wife of Prokopenko|date=20 May 2023|work=Ukrinform|access-date=8 July 2023}}
== Return to Ukraine ==
On 8 July 2023, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Azov commanders had been brought back to Ukraine from Turkey, posting a video of five Azov commanders boarding his plane, including Prokopenko.{{Cite news |title=Ukraine's Zelenskyy brings home Azovstal commanders from Turkey |language=en |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/8/ukraines-zelenskyy-returns-azov-commanders-released-to-turkey |access-date=2023-07-09|date=8 July 2023|work=Al Jazeera}} On 17 July, in a press release by Azov, Prokopenko announced he would resume his military service, and return to command of the Azov Brigade.{{cite web |title=Azov Brigade commander meets with personnel, announces his return to service |url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3736591-azov-brigade-commander-meets-with-personnel-announces-his-return-to-service.html |website=Ukrinform |date=16 July 2023 |access-date=17 July 2023}}
== Return to Azov ==
On 4 August 2023, Prokopenko took part in tactical exercises of the personnel.{{Cite web | url = https://war.obozrevatel.com/ukr/redis-u-stroyu-zyavilisya-foto-z-navchan-azova-za-uchastyu-komandira-denisa-prokopenka.htm | title =Denys Prokopenko Redis returned to service - photo from the Azov training | publisher = OBOZ.UA | author = Olha Lipych | date = 2023-08-14 | access-date = 2024-02-12 | language = uk}} On 23 August 2023, Azov's press service published a photo of "Redis" at the command post on the front line holding a flag on the occasion of a national holiday. Since August 2023, the Azov brigade under the command of Prokopenko has been performing combat missions in the Lyman direction in the area of the Serebryansky forest.{{Cite web | url = https://war.obozrevatel.com/ukr/azov-povernuvsya-na-front-stalo-vidomo-de-voyuvatimut-bijtsi-legendarnoi-brigadi.htm | title = Azov returned to the front - where he will fight - the war in Ukraine | publisher = OBOZ.UA | author = Maryna Lisnichuk | date = 2023-08-17 | access-date = 2024-02-12 | language = uk}} In the first weeks, the unit managed to advance Ukrainian positions with minimal losses.{{Cite web | url = https://fakty.com.ua/ua/videos/povernennya-legendy-komandyr-azovu-denys-prokopenko-znovu-keruye-operacziyamy-na-fronti/ | title = Return of the legend: Azov commander Denys Prokopenko once again directs operations at the front | publisher = ICTV | author = Natalia Kulyk | date = 2023-09-07 | access-date = 2024-02-12 | language = uk}}
Controversy
On July 30, 2024, the Czech MEP Kateřino Konečná described Prokopenko as "a neo-Nazi and football hooligan of Dynamo Kyiv" when she complained to Jan Lipavský, the Czech Foreign Affairs Minister, about a visit to Prague by the 3rd Assault Brigade and former Azov soldiers.{{cite news |title=Czech MEP complains about Azov soldiers visit to Prague - Foreign Minister responds harshly |url=https://english.nv.ua/nation/czechia-foreign-minister-responds-to-its-mep-s-attempts-to-cancel-ua-soldiers-meeting-in-prague-50438941.html |access-date=21 April 2025 |work=New Voice |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=ČTK |first1=Tereza Krocová |title=Kateřino, stačilo! Konečná rozzlobila Lipavského dopisem o „neonacistickém Azovu“ |url=https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domaci/jan-lipavsky-katecina-konecna-azov-pluk-brigada-praha-ukrajina.A240730_104801_domaci_ikro |access-date=21 April 2025 |work=iDNES.cz |date=30 July 2024}}
Journalist Lev Golinkin, writing for The Nation, said that Prokopenko "came out of the White Boys Club", a right-wing group of Dynamo Kyiv fans whose Facebook posts Golinkin said included praise for Holocaust perpetrators and Waffen-SS insignia. Golinkin also wrote that during Prokopenko's time in Azov, his platoon was nicknamed "Borodach Division", and the platoon's insignia was the SS Totenkopf, a popular neo-Nazi symbol.{{cite web |last1=Regimbal |first1=Alec |title=Famed author, Stanford fellow 'proud to support' far-right Azov group |url=https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/fukuyama-senior-fellow-stanford-far-right-group-18193614.php |website=SFGATE |access-date=21 April 2025 |language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Golinkin |first1=Lev |title=The Western Media Is Whitewashing the Azov Battalion |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/world/azov-battalion-neo-nazi/ |access-date=21 April 2025 |date=13 June 2023}}
Family
Denys Prokopenko is a descendant of ethnic Karelians. Prokopenko today considers his fight to defend Ukraine against Russian imperialism from Moscow a personal matter, closely intertwined with his own family history:{{cite web
|title = "Ми досить міцні, щоб кров'ю і потом відвойовувати нашу землю…" – Герой України Денис Прокопенко
|url = https://armyinform.com.ua/2022/03/23/my-dosyt-miczni-shhob-krovyu-i-potom-vidvojovuvaty-nashu-zemlyu-geroj-ukrayiny-denys-prokopenko/
|date = 2022-03-23
|archive-url = https://archive.today/20220403225714/https://armyinform.com.ua/2022/03/23/my-dosyt-miczni-shhob-krovyu-i-potom-vidvojovuvaty-nashu-zemlyu-geroj-ukrayiny-denys-prokopenko/
|archive-date = 3 April 2022
|language = uk
|trans-title = "We are strong enough to reconquer our land, by blood and sweat…" - Hero of Ukraine Denis Prokopenko
|quote = До речі, Денис — потомок етнічного карела, який чудом уцілів у Зимовій війні 1939-1940 рр., тому для нього захист України — справа особиста: «Таке відчуття, що я продовжив ту саму війну, але на іншій ділянці фронту, війну проти окупаційного режиму Кремля. У мого діда була така жахлива ненависть до комунізму, до більшовизму, до Совка… Уявляєш, що таке втратити свою родину? Тобто, всі його брати загинули, рідня…»
|trans-quote = By the way, Denis is a descendant of an ethnic Karelian who miraculously survived the Winter War of 1939-1940, so for him the defense of Ukraine is a personal matter: "It feels like I continued the same war, only on another section of the front, a war against the occupation regime of the Kremlin. My grandfather had such a terrible hatred for communism, for Bolshevism, for the Sovok... Can you imagine what it's like to lose your family? I mean, all his brothers perished, his kinfolk..."
|access-date = 9 April 2022
|url-status = live
}}
{{Blockquote|"It feels like I continued the same war, only on another section of the front, a war against the occupation regime of the Kremlin. My grandfather had such a terrible hatred for communism, for Bolshevism, for the Sovok... Can you imagine what it's like to lose your family? I mean, all his brothers perished, his kinfolk...".}}
He is married to Kateryna Prokopenko.{{Cite web |date=2022-05-07 |title=Anguish for partners of Mariupol's defenders as Russian assault goes on |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/07/anguish-for-partners-of-mariupols-defenders-as-russian-assault-goes-on |access-date=2022-05-08 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}
Awards and recognition
- The title Hero of Ukraine conferred with the distinction of the "Order of the Gold Star" (19 March 2022) – for personal courage and heroism shown in defense of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and fidelity to his military oath
- Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, III Class (24 August 2019) – for major personal contributions to strengthening the national defense capabilities of the Ukrainian nation, courage shown during hostilities, exemplary performance of official duties and high degree of professionalism
- Medal For Military Service to Ukraine (25 March 2015) – awarded to Junior Lieutenant Prokopenko for individual bravery and high degree of professionalism shown in defense of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine{{cite web
|title = Указ Президента України № 176/2015 — «Про відзначення державними нагородами України військовослужбовців Національної гвардії України»
|url = https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/176/2015#Text
|date = 2015-03-25
|archive-url = https://archive.today/20220406204318/https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/176/2015%23Text
|archive-date = 6 April 2022
|language = uk
|trans-title = Decree of the President of Ukraine № 176/2015 - "On the awarding of state awards of Ukraine to servicemen of the National Guard of Ukraine"
|access-date = 9 April 2022
|url-status = live
}}
In October 2022, he was included in the list of the 25 most influential Ukrainian servicemen by NV.{{Cite web | url = https://nv.ua/ukr/ukraine/events/generali-peremogi-nv-nazivaye-25-nayvplivovishih-ukrajinskih-viyskovih-50276584.html | title = Взвод № 1. НВ називає 25 найвпливовіших українських військових | publisher = NV | author = | date = | access-date = 2024-02-12 | language = uk }} In November 2023, he was included in the list of leaders of Ukraine by UP-100.{{Cite web | url = https://www.pravda.com.ua/cdn/graphics/2023/up_vidznachila_100_lideriv_ukraini/defenders.html | title = УП відзначила лідерів України в категорії "Захисники" | publisher = Українська правда | author = | date = | access-date = 2024-02-12 | language = uk}}
Notes
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References
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{{Russian invasion of Ukraine}}
{{Mariupol in the Russo-Ukrainian War}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prokopenko, Denys}}
Category:Kyiv National Linguistic University alumni
Category:Ukrainian people of Karelian descent
Category:Ukrainian military leaders
Category:Pro-Ukrainian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine
Category:People of the National Guard of Ukraine
Category:Ukrainian military personnel of the war in Donbas
Category:Recipients of the title of Hero of Ukraine
Category:Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class
Category:Recipients of the Order of Gold Star (Ukraine)
Category:Ukrainian military personnel of the Russian invasion of Ukraine