Russian soldier threatens Putin with mutiny, video hits 11 million views

Russian junior sergeant Alexander Lunin posted a video on Instagram on June 25, 2026, threatening a military mutiny unless he is granted a live on-air meeting with Vladimir Putin. The video, in which he claims thousands of soldiers are being tortured in pits for refusing suicidal orders, amassed nearly 11 million views in under 24 hours. Lunin, a veteran from Voronezh Oblast who fought in Ukraine, says he was approached by senior Defence Ministry and security officials asking him to relay a message to the president.

A Russian junior sergeant named Alexander Lunin has set social media ablaze after posting a video on Instagram on June 25, 2026, threatening that the army would "turn its weapons against the Kremlin" unless he is allowed to meet Vladimir Putin live on air. The video, filmed in Russian and addressed directly to the president, had amassed nearly 11 million views within less than 24 hours of publication.

The Threat and Its Claims

In the address, Lunin claimed that representatives of "high-ranking officials from the Defence Ministry and the security services" had approached him and asked him to pass a message to Putin, purportedly because the president had already seen an earlier video Lunin had recorded in June 2026. In the new video, Lunin alleged that thousands of Russian servicemen are being held in pits and subjected to torture "for refusing to carry out stupid, suicidal orders" and for declining to hand over money to their commanders. He warned that if a live Kremlin meeting does not take place, "the consequences will be very serious."

Who Is Alexander Lunin?

According to investigative reports by Meduza and Mediazona, Lunin is a 39-year-old junior sergeant in the Russian Armed Forces, born on 25 May 1987, and originally from Voronezh Oblast. He fought as part of the 150th Motorised Rifle Division, which belongs to the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army, and was wounded during his service in Ukraine. Notably, he was not always known by the name Lunin, Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo established that he was previously surnamed Pustovalov and changed his name in 2023.

Lunin claims to have been involved in combat operations since the age of 19 and says he has served in multiple conflict zones. He reportedly sustained injuries, including concussions, and acknowledges serious health problems, including psychological ones.

Service Record and Dismissal

Lunin participated in the war against Ukraine as a fighter in the volunteer Sudoplatov Battalion, joining it in December 2022 when the unit was formed under Russian-appointed authorities in the occupied city of Melitopol. He progressed from rifleman to reconnaissance squad commander and eventually led a reconnaissance platoon. During his service, he says he trained as a mortar operator and artillerist and spent his entire contract on the Kursk front.

In 2025, Lunin says he was dismissed from the BARS detachment after publishing a video in which he revealed that two soldiers had been sent on a mission without assault rifles. He subsequently worked at a state enterprise in the Russian-occupied part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. His veteran's pension, he has stated, amounts to just 4,500 roubles per month.

A Channel Built on Frontline Footage

At the start of 2026, Lunin began running his own channels across several social media platforms. Since March alone, he has posted more than 700 videos on Instagram. He says that friends who are still fighting send him messages and footage from the front, describing the material as "horrifying." His stated goal is to show this footage directly to Putin, and the viral video is his most dramatic attempt yet to force that encounter.