Russian soldier who threatened Putin with mutiny gets 11-day jail sentence
Aleksandr Lunin, 39, was found guilty of displaying extremist symbols after posting a video calling for a meeting with Putin and threatening that the army would turn its weapons on the Kremlin.
A district court in Russia's Voronezh region has sentenced 39-year-old soldier Aleksandr Lunin to 11 days in prison for displaying extremist symbols. The verdict was reached on Saturday and published on Monday.
Lunin volunteered to fight in Ukraine in 2022 and, according to media reports, spent at least part of his service at the front before returning to Voronezh region. Last week, he posted videos on Instagram calling for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, claiming that many soldiers are tortured and humiliated for refusing to carry out "senseless, suicidal orders."
"If I don't come to the Kremlin soon and speak live next to you, the army will turn its weapons on the Kremlin," Lunin said in the video posted on Thursday, which gained millions of views.
Russia has actively suppressed any criticism of Putin's regime and the army since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
