1985–2022
Mykola Nikonov
Naval special forces officer
70 kilometres behind enemy lines: in 2022 the naval special forces group of Captain 2nd Rank Mykola Nikonov, call sign Nik, went into occupied Novoazovsk and blew up russian military supplies. He then defended Mariupol and died leading his men out of encirclement. Hero of Ukraine, posthumously.
Key accomplishments
- Commander of the 1st Special Operations Detachment in the Antin Holovatyi 73rd Naval Special Operations Centre of the Special Operations Forces (Ochakiv); parachute instructor and reconnaissance diver
- Fought in eastern Ukraine from 2014: a reconnaissance raid to the russian border near Novoazovsk (2014) and an attack on a russian strongpoint near Chermalyk (2015)
- After the full-scale invasion in 2022, his group went 70 km behind enemy lines to occupied Novoazovsk and blew up enemy military supplies
- In 12 days of defending Mariupol his unit destroyed 6 enemy vehicles
- Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, 3rd class (2016); Hero of Ukraine, posthumously (decree No. 148/2022 of 19 March 2022)
70 kilometres behind enemy lines
Did you know that after the full-scale invasion began, a group of Ukrainian naval special forces went 70 kilometres behind enemy lines, to occupied Novoazovsk? It was led by Captain 2nd Rank Mykola Nikonov, call sign Nik. There his men blew up russian military supplies.
A naval commando from Kryvyi Rih
Mykola Nikonov was born on 9 August 1985 in Kryvyi Rih. He served in Ochakiv with the Antin Holovatyi 73rd Naval Special Operations Centre of the Special Operations Forces. There he commanded the 1st Special Operations Detachment, taught parachute jumping and served as a reconnaissance diver. In 2011–2012 he took part in international military exercises.
From Novoazovsk to Chermalyk
When the war in the east began in 2014, Nikonov’s group made a reconnaissance raid all the way to the russian border near Novoazovsk. In June 2015 he took part in an attack on a russian strongpoint near the village of Chermalyk to knock out an enemy mortar. In 2016 he was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, 3rd class.
Twelve days in Mariupol
After the Novoazovsk raid, Nikonov and his unit defended Mariupol. In 12 days the special forces destroyed six enemy vehicles. When the unit had to move to a safer section of the line, Nikonov led the move and stayed behind to cover his men to the last. Captain 2nd Rank Mykola Nikonov was killed on 12 March 2022 in Mariupol while leading his group out of encirclement; he was 36. On 19 March he was made a Hero of Ukraine, the country’s highest title, posthumously.
Why it matters today
Mykola Nikonov showed what Ukraine’s naval special forces can do: go deep behind enemy lines and carry out the mission. In the defence of Mariupol he put his men before himself and stayed to cover them to the end. His example teaches that responsibility for your comrades comes first.
