Moscow, April 16 — A Russian military pilot announced his suicide in a video posted to a Telegram channel, citing pressure from superiors over his independent reporting on the war in Ukraine.
The video, shared overnight on the channel “Voevoda Veshaet,” which has nearly 180,000 subscribers, features Alexei Zemtsov stating, “If you’re watching this video, it means I’m no longer here. I fulfilled my final honor as an officer.”
Zemtsov said he had been removed from flight duties and faced threats of imprisonment for “discrediting the Russian army” due to his independent commentary. He claimed he was later assigned to an assault unit before learning officials intended to jail him.
“I won’t live with the shame and disgrace of the Russian military,” he said in the recording.
The pilot disclosed that he had transferred control of his social media accounts to blogger Kirill Fyodorov, who expressed hope that the worst had not occurred but pledged not to abandon Zemtsov’s family, and friends.
Zemtsov had previously served time in prison in 2025 for assaulting his wife’s lover, a detail he had shared on his own channel.
No official confirmation of his death has been issued by Russian authorities. Independent Russian media have reported increasing pressure on service members, including allegations that commanders threaten to deploy reluctant troops as “cannon fodder” and demand bribes for medical treatment of the wounded.
