The Rossosh military court in the Voronezh region reviewed an administrative case on propaganda of banned symbols against Alexander Lunin, a former participant in the war in Ukraine. Independent outlet Verstka drew attention to the case file published on the court’s website.
According to the court database, the materials reached the court on June 27, and the hearing was held at 11:30 a.m. Information about the case, however, appeared on the website only on the morning of June 29. The ruling itself has not been published. Court staff told the outlet they would not disclose details because such cases “are not subject to disclosure.”
The article on extremist symbols allows punishment of up to 15 days of arrest. On June 27, a post appeared on Lunin’s Telegram channel referring to his wife and saying the former serviceman had been “detained” for 11 days. It also mentioned administrative proceedings without specifying the exact article.
On June 25, Lunin published several video statements which, he said, would “turn the course of history of our new Russia upside down.” He demanded a personal live broadcast meeting with Vladimir Putin to speak about problems at the front. In the videos, Lunin complained about alleged executions, extortion, and abuse by commanders against Russian soldiers and warned that otherwise the army could “turn its weapons against the Kremlin.”
As of June 29, one of the videos on Instagram had gathered 18 million views and more than half a million likes. In another clip, Lunin said he had met the previous day with representatives of the Interior Ministry and the Defense Ministry, who, according to him, had demanded that he record an address about frontline problems.
On June 26, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin was aware of the veteran’s appeal but had not studied it in detail. According to Verstka, searches were conducted overnight on June 27 at Lunin’s home in the village of Lizinovka, after which he left for Moscow and stopped responding.
Lunin is 39 years old and holds the rank of junior sergeant. According to leaked data, he fought with the 150th Motor Rifle Division and was wounded. The outlet Agenstvo also reported that in 2023 he served in the Sudoplatov volunteer battalion and had previously used the surname Pustovalov.