Russia jails veteran who threatened Putin with mutiny

A court in Russia’s Voronezh region has convicted Alexander Lunin, a veteran of Moscow’s war in Ukraine, following a widely viewed video in which he warned that unless President Vladimir Putin met with him, the military would “turn its weapons against the Kremlin.”

According to court materials reported through his Telegram account, Lunin was found guilty of “displaying extremist or Nazi symbols,” an administrative offense. Limited details were published by the court, including no specific description of which symbols were involved, and the exact penalty was not fully disclosed in publicly available court information.

Reporting said Lunin, 39, drew widespread attention after his video circulated online. The Kremlin acknowledged it was aware of the post but said it had not yet watched it. Independent outlets later identified him and confirmed he lives in the Voronezh region.

One report said the Telegram post indicated he was jailed for 11 days. The AFP-linked reporting noted that such cases are generally handled with restricted public disclosure in Russia, and that verdicts can result in short detention terms or other outcomes, even when the maximum penalty can be longer.