On June 25, a soldier from the Voronezh region, Alexander Lunin, posted a video appeal to Vladimir Putin on social media, demanding a personal meeting with the president. If refused, he threatened that "the army will turn its weapons against the Kremlin." Later, in new videos, Lunin explained that he is not calling for a coup and does not consider himself a leader of an uprising. According to him, he is only trying to convey information to Putin about what is happening at the front and to "warn" about possible consequences for the country. More details about the content of Lunin's video and the reaction to his accounts of brutality and violence in the Russian army can be found in the material by "Novaya Gazeta Europe." Photo: Alexander Lunin's personal Instagram account. The video, watched by over 11 million people. According to Lunin, on June 24, in the village of Lizinovka, Voronezh region, a black SUV, similar to a Land Cruiser, pulled up to him. In the car, he claims, were three men: one introduced himself as being from the Ministry of Defense, the second from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the third's affiliation was not precisely known, but Lunin understood he was from a structure also related to the Ministry of Defense. The man stated that Lunin had "no choice" and that he "must highlight the problem to the president." "Yesterday, people met with me, representatives of high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Defense and security agencies. And they delivered a message to Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin that if he does not grant an audience in live broadcast, I will tell the whole truth about what is currently happening in our country. Currently, tens, hundreds, thousands of our soldiers are sitting in zindans (pit prisons - editorial note), punished by their commanders. They sit, rot, are subjected to torture and violence by so-called 'Gestapo' for refusing to obey stupid suicidal orders, for refusing to hand over their financial resources. And in the end, they are zeroed out, declared missing. Vladimir Vladimirovich, pay attention to this, invite me to you. The consequences will be very serious. If I do not arrive at the Kremlin in the near future and speak in a live broadcast, next to you, the army will turn its weapons against the Kremlin. I am only conveying a message." Lunin was allegedly told to convey that if order is not established at the front, then "the guys will rise up because they simply have no strength left." "The people who came yesterday showed me videos where such horrors are happening that you cannot even imagine. And it is no longer possible to remain silent about this," the soldier later repeated. The video quickly went viral. In the first four hours alone, the video garnered over 2 million views and over 80,000 likes. By noon on June 26, the video had almost 12 million views. "Not a mutiny" In the comments under Lunin's video appeal, many recalled the attempted mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner PMC, which occurred exactly three years ago. But Lunin was quick to reject these comparisons: "No one said they wanted to carry out a coup. If they wanted a coup, it would have been done quietly and silently. They want to convey to the president that lawlessness is happening at the front, just as it is throughout the country." Lunin stated that he had "put his whole life on the line." "I am not a resistance leader, I am the one who will convey the information to Vladimir Vladimirovich at the cost of my life," he emphasized. In one of the videos, the man also spoke about how difficult it was for him and his comrades to fight in the Kursk region. "We never left our positions... Such a mess was happening there... And for some reason, no one was awarded, while those in the headquarters who never went to the front lines received bravery awards," he complained. Lunin also expressed anger that people listen to "liberals and enemies of the people" who allegedly call his actions an attempt at mutiny. "Guys - envoys from serious people - passed on to me and showed me videos of our fighters being tortured. Of course, I was shocked! I'm still shocked! And I'm trying to reach the president," he clarified his intentions again. Photo: Alexander Lunin's personal Instagram account. The Presidential Administration "heard" As Lunin said, he was informed that his video appeal had been seen in the Presidential Administration: "No one asked me to record the video, I was presented with a fait accompli, and I recorded it. I still believe it is my sacred duty to warn our commander-in-chief that great trouble could befall our country." Lunin warns that the country awaits "chaos like never before" because "the external enemy sees everything and will use it for its own purposes." "If the guys who are currently on the front lines leave their positions, our country will collapse." On June 26, Lunin announced he was driving to Moscow. According to him, Vitaly Borodin, head of the Federal Project for Security and Anti-Corruption, contacted him. Kremlin Reaction On June 26, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the presidential administration had heard about Alexander Lunin's appeal but had not yet had time to watch it. "We were told that there is such an appeal, but we haven't had time to review it yet. Therefore, I wouldn't say anything. Judging by your words, some rather strange wording, it needs to be reviewed first," Peskov said. The Kremlin did not comment on either the threat of mutiny or Lunin's statements about the torture of Russian soldiers. Lunin announced that he was going to Moscow and began collecting appeals from other citizens about "crimes" committed "against our fighters by commanders and all these Gestapo members." What is known about Lunin According to leaked data from "Meduza" and "Mediazona," Lunin fought in Ukraine as part of the 150th Motor Rifle Division, which is part of the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army, and was wounded. "Agentstvo" found out that Lunin is 39 years old. Alexander Lunin is his real name and surname. But he received his current surname in 2023; before that, he was Pustovalov. Photo: Alexander Lunin's personal Instagram account. According to leaks, writes "Agentstvo," in 2023 Lunin traveled to Melitopol and served in the volunteer battalion named after Sudoplatov, first as a rifleman, then as a commander. Later, he worked at the State Unitary Enterprise "Sudoplatov Center for Technical Development and Services" in the Zaporizhzhia region. Journalists managed to reach the man by phone. "Novaya Gazeta Europe" also tried to contact Lunin, but he refused to speak with the publication. In a conversation with "Agentstvo," Lunin said that since this year he has been running his own channel on several platforms. According to him, acquaintances from the front send him messages and videos about the situation of Russian soldiers. "I receive a lot of messages, video messages. I'm even afraid to post them because there are horrific images," he said. "I receive a lot of messages, video messages. I'm even afraid to post them because there are horrific images," he said. Lunin claims that this is why he decided to appeal to Putin - to "show personally" these materials and speak directly with the president. Lunin has two sons. He is not currently fighting because he was "kicked out," according to him, for failing to perform his duties in 2025.