The commanders of the Azov Regiment released from Russian captivity are preparing and will carry out combat tasks, this is not prohibited, Commander of the National Guard Oleksandr Pivnenko has said.

When asked, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda, whether the Azov commanders, in particular, Denys Prokopenko (callsign Redis), would take part in hostilities, Pivnenko said: "Denys holds some position. They defended Mariupol, some others had tasks not within a brigade but as part of a battalion tactical group. They are getting ready and will carry out tasks just like the others do."

There is no ban on their participation in hostilities, the National Guard Commander said.

"There is no such prohibition, no one told me that someone should be involved in hostilities and someone other should not. Moreover, I do not make decisions on who should take part in hostilities. We are the Armed Forces, and there is a Supreme Commander, there is a Commander-in-Chief, there are operational and strategic directions. If someone needs help, they send me, roughly speaking a military language, a combat order and I fulfill it, that is all," Pivnenko said.

To a question when Prokopenko would start participating in hostilities, the National Guard Commander said that this might happen within a month.

"It depends on the situation at the front. Maybe, within a month. We will see, life will show," Pivnenko said.

As reported, on July 8, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned to Ukraine from Turkey together with the Azovstal defenders who had been previously interned in Turkey after the release from Russian captivity.

On July 16, Commander of the Azov Regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine, Lieutenant Colonel Denys Prokopenko (Redis) met with the staff for the first time since his return from captivity and stay in Turkey.