Denys Prokopenko: Confidence that the war will end in 2025 is detrimental to both the front lines and the home front.
Throughout 2024, the 12th Special Purpose Brigade "Azov" operated on the front lines. For the majority of the year, we continued our combat mission in the Lyman direction, and later the unit received orders to urgently relocate to the breakthrough area near Toretsk. At that time, the situation there was critical. Through the titanic efforts of the "Azov" fighters and adjacent units, we managed to hold the entrusted section of the front, inflict maximum losses on the enemy in manpower and equipment, after which they lost their offensive potential and desire to conduct active attacks.
For 365 days, our soldiers, sergeants, and officers repelled continuous assaults from the Russians, counterattacked, liberated occupied territories, replenished the exchange fund, and evacuated civilians from frontline areas. I thank each Azov fighter for their demonstrated courage, bravery, and selflessness. This year, due to the professional and coordinated actions of our brigade's servicemen, the occupiers suffered significant losses: both in manpower and equipment. This will continue in 2025.
However, no successful operation in war comes without a cost. Behind every repelled enemy attack and every inch of reclaimed Ukrainian land lies the sweat, blood, and lives of our fighters. It is their decisive actions that Ukraine owes its ability to welcome the new year in free Ukrainian cities.
Unfortunately, 850 "Azov" fighters have been deprived of this opportunity, having been held under extremely harsh conditions in Russian captivity for over two and a half years. Through the joint efforts of various agencies, we managed to bring back 169 of our comrades from captivity in 2024. In the coming year, we will continue to do everything possible to rescue all our prisoners from the hell of Russian prisons.
This year, "Azov" also overcame a long-standing ban on receiving weapons from the United States. However, the results of a significant blow to Russian propaganda were somewhat delayed due to bureaucratic holdups. The personnel of "Azov" and I personally hope that in 2025, the brigade will finally receive the weapons it deserves like no one else.
Lastly, the Ukrainian and global media landscape is filled with the confidence that the war in Ukraine will end in 2025. This belief harms both the front and the rear. It creates a false illusion, soothing and relaxing in a situation where relaxation means losing the state and independence. If these predictions prove wrong, our society will face a severe disappointment that will impact the country's defense capability.
This must not be allowed under any circumstances. Moreover, any security guarantees that Ukraine may receive do not mean that Ukrainians can shift the responsibility for the country's defense onto others. We already have the infamous example of the Budapest Memorandum, which lulled the Ukrainian society into believing that the security of our borders would be ensured by signatures on paper.
But even if hostilities cease in 2025, the war will not disappear. It will look at us through the eyes of our fallen comrades, remind us of its presence through the ruins of Ukrainian cities, and will be felt in the tears of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian families who have lost their dearest. And it will breathe down our necks simply by the existence of an enemy at our borders, who will never abandon the intention to occupy Ukraine. This means we will have no choice but to continue reforming the army, strengthening our defense industry, and preparing. Because next time, the occupier will come back even stronger and better prepared.
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