Russian Veteran's Viral Video Alleges Torture of Soldiers

The Kremlin has promised to investigate a viral video by Russian army veteran Alexander Lunin, who, in an emotional message addressed to President Vladimir Putin, accused commanders fighting in Ukraine of torturing and killing their own soldiers.

Lunin claims that soldiers who refused to carry out what he called "suicidal orders" or hand over money to their superiors were detained in makeshift prisons, tortured and subsequently killed. Without presenting any evidence, he also stated that these cases were covered up as instances of soldiers going missing.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the president's office has not yet reviewed the video, but he described some of the claims as "strange" and promised to look into them.

The video, which quickly went viral on Instagram and garnered millions of views, also contains a threat that if Lunin is not given the opportunity to address Putin live on air, the army will turn its weapons against the Kremlin. There is no independent confirmation of his allegations at this time.

(Reuters, mja)