Kremlin says it will look into veteran's torture claims in Ukraine war

The Kremlin said it would look into a viral Instagram appeal to Vladimir Putin from military veteran Alexander Lunin, who accused Russian commanders in Ukraine of torturing and murdering soldiers for refusing what he called suicidal orders. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin had not yet seen the appeal and described its wording as strange.

The post spread fast: it drew more than 12 million views in 24 hours, even though Instagram is banned in Russia and is typically accessible only through a virtual private network. The video did not cite evidence or name any alleged victims or perpetrators, but it still forced a public reaction from Moscow at a sensitive moment for Russia’s war effort.

Lunin identified himself in military uniform and asked for an audience with Putin to tell him “the whole truth” about what was happening in the country. In a June 25 video, he warned that if he was not given a live meeting with Putin soon, the army would turn its weapons against the Kremlin. Later, he appeared to soften that threat, saying his earlier statements had been twisted.

Other coverage identified Lunin as living in Russia’s Voronezh region and described him as little known before the post. He also claimed that unnamed Defense Ministry and security officials met with him on June 24 and June 25, but he provided no evidence for that account.

The episode underscores how allegations of abuse inside Russia’s military can break into public view even under wartime controls. If Lunin’s claims are true, they point to serious violations within the chain of command in Ukraine. If they are false, the scale and speed of the response still show how quickly a confrontational accusation can force the Kremlin to acknowledge a problem it would ordinarily try to keep contained.