His personal best as an U20 athlete was 2.28 metres, achieved at the 2017 European U20 Championships in Grosseto.
[2] In 2020 he won his first Balkan Indoor Championships; the winning result of 2.24 metres was his second best ever.
In 2021, he jumped 2.28 metres again, this time in the Ukrainian Indoor Cup at KMSHVSM Arena, Kyiv.
[2] Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Nikitin relocated to Finland.
He was allowed to compete in the 2023 World Championships, albeit without progressing to the final round.