In a video published on Thursday, June 25, on Instagram, 39-year-old junior sergeant Oleksandr Lunin, a native of the Voronezh region and a participant in the war against Ukraine, demanded a meeting with the Russian leader during a live broadcast. He stated that he wants to tell him “the whole truth about what is happening in our country now” and threatened that otherwise, a military coup would occur.
On Friday, the Kremlin announced it would consider the matter. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that the appeal “contains rather strange formulations”.
According to Lunin, he recorded this video after being approached by “representatives of high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Defense and law enforcement agencies”, who, he claims, decided to use him to convey a message to Putin. He also mentioned that he was contacted because Putin allegedly watched his previous recording.
On Thursday, Lunin claimed that thousands of soldiers are being held in pits dug in the ground and subjected to torture “for refusing to carry out stupid, suicidal orders” and for not giving money to their commanders.
He warned that if he is not allowed to meet with Putin in a live broadcast, “the consequences will be very serious”, and “the army will turn weapons against the Kremlin”.
Kremlin’s Reaction
The recording quickly gained a large number of views. On Friday, Russian authorities responded to it. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We were informed that such an appeal exists, but we have not yet had the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with it, so I would not like to comment on it.”
However, Peskov added that “judging by what we have heard, it contains rather strange formulations, so we must first familiarize ourselves with it.”
Lunin’s Statements and Activities
Lunin claims he was dismissed from the army in 2025 after publishing a video on the internet that showed two soldiers being sent on a combat mission without weapons. At the beginning of 2026, he started his own channel on various platforms.
Since March, he has published over 700 recordings on Instagram. He reported that friends who are still fighting on the front send him messages and videos. “There are terrible recordings,” he said, adding that he wants to meet with Putin to show him these materials.
Source: Gazeta.pl