A young man from Buryatia dreamed of fighting in Ukraine for three years. He signed a contract the day after his 18th birthday — and died two months later

As reported by the publication "Siberia.Realities", the young man became the first in the list of deceased servicemen born in 2008, maintained by journalists of the "People of Baikal" project. The young man finished 9th grade in his home village, 10th grade in the neighboring Mozhaika, after which he entered the Kharinsk branch of the Buryat Republican Industrial Technical College, specializing in car repair.

According to friends, thoughts of going to the front appeared in Nikita's mind as early as 9th grade. Arina, an acquaintance of the young man, told journalists that he was waiting for adulthood and assured that no one would stop him.

"He immediately wrote to me that he wanted to sign a contract. We discussed it many times. He said that he had wanted to sign for about three years and that nothing would stop him - neither family nor friends," the publication quotes the girl as saying.

Yaroslav, a friend of the deceased, explains the decision by the family's financial problems. Nikita wanted to help his mother, who was left with five other children, including a sister with a disability.

"He said he wasn't afraid to lose his life, he was afraid not to help his family. My friends and I told him not to go there, that he could work as a civilian, find a girlfriend, and live peacefully. But Nikita had a different opinion. He said there was nothing to do here," "Siberia.Realities" quotes Yaroslav.

Residents of Papyarochnaye confirm that there are no jobs in the village, except for the forestry, railway, and a few farms. At the same time, the one-time payment for signing a contract in Buryatia in the spring of 2026 was 1.6 million Russian rubles, and in June, it increased to 2.1 million. Margarita, a neighbor of the family, recalls the mother's reaction to her son's decision:

"She wailed when she found out he went to war. But what could she do from here in the village? The boy had already studied in a college in Kharinsk for a year. That's where they brainwashed him."

From Promises to the Reality of the Front

The legal possibility to go to war at 18 without mandatory military service appeared after changes to Russian legislation in April 2023. Nikita Malyshev exercised this right on April 8, 2026, and departed to military unit No. 46108.

Initially, the young man told acquaintances that he would serve as a drone operator, expecting to be in the rear and only going out for combat missions. However, later the nature of his messages changed. He began to complain about heavy workloads and lack of rest.

"He said that if he didn't learn to fly drones — which he couldn't do — then he would be 'sent to assault teams'," said his acquaintance Olga.

The exact location and circumstances of his service in the last weeks of his life remain unknown, but in the official obituary, Nikita is listed not as a UAV operator, but as an anti-aircraft gunner of the 2nd anti-aircraft missile platoon.

On the morning of June 12, he sent Arina a short, silent video, where he stood in military uniform with a weapon in his hands and his face covered. After that, communication was lost. Later, Nikita's sister confirmed that he died on the same day in the area of the village of Vesele, Polohy district, Zaporizhzhia region.

How Many People Can Be Pulled from One Village to the Front?

Today, the population of Papyarochnaye is less than 300 people. Local residents claim that about 25 men — both mobilized and contract soldiers — went to war.

In open sources, the names of at least five fallen natives of this village have been published.

Among them is Ivan Berezovsky, who was serving a 10-year sentence for murder and was recruited into the Wagner PMC from a penal colony in 2022. Also on the lists are mobilized Vladimir Bainzurov and Dmitry Uvarov. The latter received a severe injury, returned to the front with a limp after rehabilitation, and died in the Vuhledar direction. Another resident, Viktor Dronov, signed a contract in December 2023 and died 10 months later.

Now, in the lobby of the local school, next to the monument to those who died in World War II, memorial plaques with the names of those killed in Ukraine have begun to be installed, and local authorities plan to build a separate obelisk with a list of all residents who did not return from the front.

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