Almost exactly two years before the attack on Korynevych, I wrote about “a potential rift” in the Azov movement, which until now seemed to have aged poorly. On Biletsky’s initiative, the “Support Azov” charity was established in mid-2022, but later changed its name after the newly upgraded NGU Azov Brigade launched “The One and Only” charity “Azov One” in early 2023. As somebody said recently, “‘Support Azov’ collects millions, and the [NGU] Azov fighters see zero. Has anyone noticed where the cache is disappearing?”

Until last September, the Azovite units shared a patronage service, “Azov’s Angels,” which grew out of the Azov Battalion and partnered with “Azov One.” Last September, the NGU Azov Brigade launched a separate patronage service, blindsiding the “Angels” and the rest of the movement.

Dmytro Kukharchuk, one of Biletsky’s most prominent lieutenants, appeared to be talking about Prokopenko and his entourage when he reacted to this news: “the ambitions of certain individuals cannot be the reason for our oblivion.” Nowadays, Kukharchuk might be the most divisive figure in the Azov movement, who has said that the attack on Korynevych “looks like a provocation of enemy intelligence agencies.”

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As Marta Havryshko commented, “Once upon a time, the Führer was Bandera. Now it’s Biletsky. Just the kind of boys Europe can’t wait to welcome into their living rooms.” Leave it to a historian to notice, “Criminal-style showdowns within the Azov movement are escalating.”