Man who trained child soldiers in Nikel was killed in war

"Sergei Novomirovich, we will miss you," a social media channel in Nikel posted on 21 September.

The post has almost 500 likes and 100 comments.

"The village of Nikel has lost a man who was dedicated to fostering patriotism in young people, who moulded young men into warriors, and who prepared them for service in the armed forces," one of the comments reads.

"Lord, grant rest to the soul of your departed servant Sergii, forgive him all his sins, whether committed willingly or unwillingly, and grant him the Kingdom of Heaven," a woman adds.

Sergei Ukhov went to fight in Russia’s war of aggression and was reported killed in September 2026. It is not clear when he signed up for service or was mobilised, but he continued to post photos and reports on his social media page until shortly before his death.

Ukhov was instrumental in establishing local branches of the militant children’s and youth organisations Rus and Kolchuga in Nikel and the Pechenga District. Over many years, he trained kids—some of them as young as 6 or 7 years old—in hardcore military combat.

Photos published by Ukhov himself, as well as by his partner and friend Vitaly Indeykin, indicate that more than 100 children and young people were involved in the training activities in 2018 alone.

In an interview with a local TV team, Ukhov explained that the purpose of the training was to prepare the kids for military service.

"I am preparing the kids to serve in the army. They will not be fully trained as soldiers, but will be about 50% ready. They only need to improve within the respective disciplines and then they will be ready. The kids are mostly going to units in the Interior Ministry, the naval infantry, the spetsnaz—all of them are going there as conscripts," he said.

Ukhov and his organisations cooperated closely with the local political establishment, the armed forces, and the Orthodox Church. In 2016, a large Orthodox cross was erected at a quarry outside Nikel used as a training ground. Photos show local priest Andrei Starostin blessing the cross and the young warriors.

"To the memory of the 3-year anniversary of the establishment of the Severomorsk diocese," a metal plate attached to the cross reads. In May the same year, Ukhov and several of his young trainees reportedly participated in games for military-patriotic Orthodox clubs organised in Moscow by the Church.

There was extensive contact with the Russian Armed Forces, especially the 200th Motorised Rifle Brigade in Pechenga, now named the 71st Motorised Rifle Division. In October 2018, Ukhov and some of his kids paid a visit to the brigade’s premises, where everyone was awarded diplomas. The following month, a group of soldiers from the brigade visited Ukhov’s training facility in Nikel. The facility was decorated with a Russian tricolour, as well as a Norwegian flag, photos show.

Sergei Ukhov was closely connected with the political establishment in Nikel and the Pechenga District, and he also attempted to build a political career himself. In 2020, he ran for a seat in the district council for the United Russia party, but lost to a senior party official.

For a period, Ukhov also worked as director of a local school. He was active in the martial arts community on the Kola Peninsula and served as leader of the Murmansk Kobudo Federation.

Several photos shared on social media by Sergei Ukhov and Vitaly Indeykin show representatives of the local government in Pechenga, among them Sergei and Inessa Fomenko. The Fomenkos, a married couple, held leading posts in the local administration and took part in international projects and cross-border cooperation events with Norway and Finland.

In October 2019, when a group of youth representatives from the Pechenga District visited Kirkenes in connection with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Norwegian border town, Sergei Fomenko was on site as representative of the Russian side.

The Barents Observer has not found evidence that Sergei Ukhov travelled to Norway with his young trainees. However, photos show that several of them were in Kirkenes as part of the Russian youth group in October 2019, along with Sergei Fomenko.

Photos link at least five of the Russian youth representatives to the militant organisations in Nikel. The boy who carried the Russian tricolour in a very distinctive way during commemorations at a Kirkenes war memorial is the same person who can be seen training with Sergei Ukhov in the quarry outside Nikel. He also appears in photos from the visit to the 200th Motorised Rifle Brigade in Pechenga, as well as in the Nikel training facility.

The Barents Observer has not managed to identify the boy by name, nor to trace his further life.

The Russian child soldiers who took part in cross-border events with Norwegian kids in October 2019, and in the preceding years, were carefully selected by the authorities in Nikel. At the time, the Norwegians were hardly aware of their background, and the Norwegian participants were regular high school kids.

Harald Sørensen works in Sør-Varanger Municipality and was actively involved in cross-border cooperation for many years.

He told the Barents Observer that the two sides selected their respective participants separately. As part of the cooperation, the Norwegian-Russian group spent several days together—first on the Russian side of the border, and then on the Norwegian side.

Sørensen maintains that the programme was well organised and that the participating Norwegians did not notice anything suspicious.

"It was all pretty innocent—a regular cross-border youth project."