Kremlin considers accusations of ‘Russian commander mistreating soldiers’

The video is spreading on the social network Instagram, attracting more than 12 million views, showing a man wearing a military uniform and many medals, claiming to be Russian veteran Alexander Lunin who fought in the conflict with Ukraine, criticizing the way Russian commanders treat soldiers.

This person said thousands of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine were locked in pits for refusing to carry out “stupid and suicidal orders” or not agreeing to pay money to the commander. Lunin asked President Vladimir Putin to “tell the truth” about how Russian soldiers were treated.

In a second video also posted on Instagram on June 25, Lunin said the soldiers were tortured before being murdered, adding that the commanders then covered up the incident by claiming the soldiers had gone missing while on duty.

This person declared that if he did not soon meet President Putin and speak next to him on live television, the Russian army would “turn its guns toward the Kremlin.”

“I was merely conveying the message,” Lunin said, adding that senior officials in the security sector and the Ministry of Defense asked him to record a video of the statement.

Lunin did not provide evidence for his accusations, nor did he name the person involved.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on June 26 that he had received information about this video, but he and President Putin would review the images before commenting. Instagram is banned in Russia and can only be accessed via a virtual private network (VPN).

Independent Russian media outlets have verified Lunin’s identity, saying he is a 39-year-old veteran who fought in the conflict with Ukraine and is from Voronezh province in Russia.

Lunin is said to have carried the surname Pustovalov before legally changing his surname in 2023.

Reuters said most Russians had not heard of Lunin before the video was posted.

The Kremlin faced a rebellion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private military corporation Wagner, in June 2023. Prigozhin then led 25,000 Wagner soldiers to control the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don, then sent a group of troops to Moscow to express his dissatisfaction with the leaders of the Ministry of Defense.

The rebellion ended after less than 24 hours, when Prigozhin agreed to withdraw his troops and move to Belarus, while Wagner fighters who did not participate in the rebellion were allowed to sign contracts to serve the Russian Ministry of Defense. Two months later, Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash.