On February 2nd, PMC Wagner, also known as the Wagner Group, released a list of phone numbers of regional recruiters in their official Telegram channel. By using public information, it was possible to trace the local representative for Arkhangelsk, Oleg Vladimirovich Milkov, who has a long running history of criminal and military activities.
Tracing Oleg Milkov
The investigation started with the use of a phone number provided by PMC Wagner for a local recruiter and representative in the Arkhangelsk region. Multiple databases were searched, leading to the discovery of the names Oleg Vladimirovich Milkov and Oleg Malishevsky. Further research on Google located a Facebook account under the name of Oleg Milkov and a VKontakte account under the name of Oleg Malishevsky. The two accounts posted the same images and both claim to reside in Kotlas, Arkhangelsk.
Milkov in 2011
Another search revealed that Milkov was involved in a fraud case in 2019. According to the Prosecutor’s office of the Arkhangelsk region, Milkov falsified documents and received a grant of 1.5 million rubles to create a farm, which were instead spent for personal use. The site states that Milkov’s sentence was never carried out. According to a 2019 article regarding the case published by Arkhangelsk news agency Echo Severa, Oleg Milkov is 47 years old. This claim is further supported by his information page on the Ukrainian Myrotvorets Center, a Ukrainian site that tracks persons that are “enemies of Ukraine,” which states that he was born in January of 1972.
Screenshots from the Arkhangelsk prosecutor’s office (top) and Echo Severa detailing Milkov’s case (bottom).
COSSACK TIES AND THE WAR IN THE DONBASS
Milkov is the founder of the local bodybuilding and fitness club in Kotlas, Arkhangelsk, as well as the head of the Cossack military society, the “ОКО “СЕВЕРНЫЙ ОТДЕЛ” or “Northern Department” until 2021. In addition, Milkov’s name is registered as the founder of two private security companies.
An image from the Myrotvorets center shows what appears to be a meeting of the Cossack society. The photo is taken in the same location as Milkov’s VK profile picture.
Left: Meeting of the “Northern Department” Cossack society. Right: Oleg Milkov’s VK profile picture.
Continuing the search on VK, a close associate of Milkov, Kotlas resident Oleg Sivachek was identified. In 2014, Sivachek posted photos of him at a grenade launcher position in the Donbass and a wall with art of the Novorossiya flag. Photos of Milkov are also taken in the same location.
Images posted by Sivachek (Top) and Milkov (Bottom)
A news article by Arkhangelsk news site Pravda Severa states that members of Milkov’s Northern Department Cossack society guarded a humanitarian convoy in late 2014. The article claims that the trip was made for humanitarian reasons. It goes on to state that members of the Northern Department such as Milkov guarded the convoy as part of a militia group. The article states that Members of the “Northern Department” guarded an international airport in Crimea prior during the 2014 referendum.
Milkov wearing a Russian military uniform in Sevastopol, Crimea.
Milkov was likely a member of the Prizrak Brigade, an infantry unit of the Luhansk People’s Republic. Multiple images show Milkov wearing a patch showing the flag of Novorossiya alongside insignia of the brigade. According to a 2015 Amnesty International report, the Prizrak Brigade abused and tortured prisoners of war on multiple occasions.
Milkov alongside members and insignia of the Pizrak Brigade.
In one photo of Milkov taken in Cuba, Milkov’s VK profile states that the person shown in the picture is Ali Ignorenko. Interestingly, the linked VK account to Ali Ignorenko is also listed on the Myrotvorets center as belonging to Oleg Milkov.
Screenshot taken from Milkov’s VK page.
Screenshot of Milkov’s VK page (top) and a screenshot of the Ali Ignorenko account.
Enhancing the profile picture of the linked account shows that the individual in it is wearing a recognizable PMC Wagner patch. The Ali Ignorenko account’s nickname includes “olegovih,” which has no apparent connection to the name Ignorenko, but is more likely to be linked to Oleg Milkov. In addition, the Ali Ignorenko account is also a friend of Milkovs’ VK account. Given these circumstances, it is probable that Ali Ignorenko is an alias used by Oleg Milkov for activities relating to PMC Wagner such as recruitment.
An enhanced profile picture from the Ali Ignorenko account.