Former Scots schoolboy killed in battle honoured at Ukrainian chapel
Arkadii Petrov - who attended Kirkcudbright Academy - is honoured at the Ukrainian Chapel in Lockerbie.
Former Scots schoolboy killed in battle honoured at Ukrainian chapel
The Ukrainian community came together at the weekend to remember Arkadii Petrov
A former pupil at a secondary school in the south of Scotland who was killed in battle has been commemorated by the local Ukrainian community.
They met at their chapel near Lockerbie on Sunday to pay tribute to Arkadii Petrov, who attended Kirkcudbright Academy.
He was killed on a combat mission in Ukraine last month, just two days before his 21st birthday.
The service at the Ukrainian Chapel was held as part of a "day of gratitude" for everyone fighting in their homeland, but also a "day to remember" those who had lost their lives.
Arkadii died just a couple of days before his 21st birthday
Arkadii Petrov and his family moved to Dumfries and Galloway when he was a teenager, after Russia's invasion in 2022.
He attended Kirkcudbright Academy before going back to Ukraine to fight, and was killed in action in the east of the country.
His family was told on 22 September that he had died a few days earlier.
Peter Kormylo, archivist at the Ukrainian Chapel, described him as a "bright, respectful and thoughtful young man, our young Cossack, who was a part of our community".
"Arkadii made the conscious decision to join the armed forces of Ukraine," he said.
"He chose to defend his country, his loved ones, and our shared future - and he died defending Ukraine.
"We prayed together for the peaceful soul of Arkadii, together with all the heroes whom Ukraine has lost in this war."
The history of Hallmuir Chapel goes back to 1947, when an unassuming corrugated iron hut was converted into a chapel by Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Hundreds of them ended up in a camp in southern Scotland and were given use of the property.
It is now a grade B listed building and still regularly holds church services.
It has also served as a collection point for items to support humanitarian aid during the conflict in Ukraine.