There is no evidence that the wife of the Azov regiment commander Kateryna Prokopenko is engaged in any political activities, especially in Germany. Prokopenko, as the head of the public organization ‘Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders, visited Germany in early April to draw attention to Ukrainian soldiers being released from captivity and pressure international organizations to investigate the terrorist attack in Olenivka. Representatives of the German Foreign Ministry, in turn, promised to help with implementing rehabilitation programs for the families of the soldiers who died in Mariupol and the families of heroes injured in the terrorist attack in Olenivka, as well as soldiers who returned from captivity with amputations. Moreover, Azov is neither neo-Nazi or fascist. It is an old Russian propaganda fake.
Social media and Russian websites (1, 2, 3) are spreading information that the German authorities allegedly ‘turned the wife of the Azov commander, Kateryna Prokopenko, into an influential politician.’ The Russian media is citing a publication in the German left-wing extremist media outlet Junge Welt.
‘The ministry of Annalena Burbok recently hosted high-ranking guests. One of the first ladies of the fascist empire Azov was invited. The empire has military brigades, soldiers, its own political party and even secret service. Kateryna, the wife of Azov commander Denys Prokopenko, reported on a ‘fruitful working meeting’ with ‘representatives of the German Foreign Affairs Ministry’ at which she was promised ‘help’, Russian media quoted Junge Welt as saying. ‘Prokopenko and his neo-Nazi battalions, as elite fighters in NATO’s proxy war with Russia, can no longer deal with their enemies with brass knuckles and knives. Instead, thanks to the German government, they are equipped with high-tech weapons and feel more than comfortable’, – writes RIA Novosti.
In reality, the German authorities, despite what Russian media says, did not turn Kateryna Prokopenko into an influential politician. There is zero evidence that Kateryna Prokopenko is engaged in any political activities, especially in Germany. Secondly, the wife of the Azov battalion commander Denys Prokopenko is not the ‘fascist first lady of Ukraine’. Such statements are simply absurd. Kateryna Prokopenko heads the public organization ‘Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders’ and the charity ‘Fund for Support of Families of Azovstal Defenders’. These organizations are exclusively engaged in humanitarian and charity activities and have nothing to do with fascist or neo-Nazi ideologies, as Russian and German left-wing extremist sites claim.
In early April, the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders did actually visit Germany, where it held a number of working meetings. You can find out about it from the official page of the Association in Meta. ‘The working trip of the Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders founder Kateryna Prokopenko to Germany is in progress. As part of the visit to Berlin, a number of meetings took place, including a meeting with representatives of the Christian Democratic Union party, namely Knut Abraham and other party members, who shared their emotions and impressions of the Ukrainian struggle, including military personnel from the Mariupol and Azovstal garrisons, for Ukraine’s freedom and independence, as well as the struggle of the defenders’ families to release their relatives from captivity. Politicians promised to make maximum efforts to speed up the process of releasing heroes from captivity, and to exert further pressure on international organizations that should investigate the terrorist attack in Olenivka,’ the publication reads.
In addition, the Association representatives met with the first Ukrainian deputy of the Berlin Parliament, Lilia Usyk, who promised to raise the topic of prisoners and Geneva Conventions violations at all levels. A meeting with representatives of the German Foreign Ministry was also held. They promised to help implement rehabilitation programs for the families of soldiers who died in Mariupol and the families of heroes injured in the terrorist attack in Olenivka, as well as soldiers with amputations. Thus, all statements about fascism and high-tech weapons in the context of Kateryna Prokopenko’s visit to Germany are fake, as are reports about her as an influential politician. Such statements are just made up scenarios divorced from reality. Kateryna Prokopenko’s visit to Berlin was devoted exclusively to humanitarian cooperation with Germany and assistance in returning from captivity and rehabilitating Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol.
Moreover, the Azov battalion is not neo-Nazi. Because of Russian propaganda and publications in some marginal Western media, all mentions of Azov have turned into a neo-Nazi horror story, which is perceived especially painfully by the German left because of the country’s historical past. Previously, StopFake published a detailed story explaining why Azov is not a neo-Nazi battalion. In particular, as in any disinformation campaign, while constructing an image of the Nazi Azov some real facts were used, but the majority are assumptions, manipulations and fakes, repeated constantly to the point that the target audience began to perceive them as facts.
In addition, there is no NATO proxy war with Russia, only an unprovoked Russia’s invasion into a neighboring sovereign state to occupy its territories and control them by force. However, the German left-wing extremist publication Junge Welt usually prefers to use the vocabulary of Russian propagandists instead of real facts.
StopFake continues to refute similar fakes about Russia’s war against Ukraine in the stories Manipulation: Ukrainian Nationalists Beat Russian-Speaking Man and Woman in Berlin, Photofake: Azov battalion with a Nazi flag, Manipulation: World Held Hostage By Biden’s Policy and Ukraine’s Reluctance to Surrender.
