Reconnaissance and sabotage unit joined 60th Mechanized Brigade in August 2023.
Ukrainian command, in cooperation with representatives of Azov, decided to expand the reconnaissance and sabotage unit Azov-Kharkiv of Kraken Special Detachment to a separate mechanized battalion. The unit has been assigned to 60th Mechanized Brigade of Ukrainian Ground Forces as 97th Mechanized Battalion.
Azov-Kharkiv was formed on the basis of Azov Territorial Defense Unit in Kharkiv, later known as 226th Reconaissance-Sabotage Battalion of 127th Territorial Defense Brigade shortly after the Russian full-scale invasion.
97 Mechanized Battalion is a battalion of 60th Mechanized Brigade. The unit was formed in 2015 and fought since the first days of Russian full-scale invasion in February 2022. The unit participated in the Ukrainian offensive towards Kherson and was eventually sent to Bakhmut in the winter of 2022. The unit, together with other defense forces, defended Bakhmut for several months, which came at serious cost. The battalion de-facto ceased to exist in spring 2023 and had to be recreated on the basis of Azov-Kharkiv.
Quick question about the Azov Assault Brigade
https://militaryland.net/ukraine/national-guard/azov-brigade/
It says that their commander, Lt. Col. Denis Prokopenko is. He was in Russian captivity and then in Turkish exile. He was sent back to Ukraine on the condition that he no longer take part in the war. Why is he now commander of this unit again?
AFAIK, the Turkish Government did not impose any condition for his return to Ukraine. And if Russia complaints about it, they have violated so many agreements that they are not in any position to protest.
No hypocrisy. If Russia does not respect their engagement towards other nations, other nations have no obligation to respect their engagement towards Russia. That’s called reciprocity, and that’s the basics of diplomacy.
What does it have to do with international, negociated agreements (and the consequences of breaking them) ?
Russia guaranteed Ukraines safety in the Budapest Memorandum in exchange for Ukraines nuclear weapons. Probably one of the single biggest political mistakes ever. Apart from what that meant for Ukraine, I also want to point at what that means for nuclear weapons in general. How can anyone say Ukraine has to go by anything it deals with Russia?