“If you are seeing this, I am dead”: Russian Aerospace Forces officer Aleksey Zemtsov accused General Vladimir Kravchenko of harassment and said he would commit suicide

A posthumous video has been posted on the Russian military Telegram channel “Voyevoda Veshchayet” by its administrator. In the recording, he discloses that he is Senior Lieutenant Aleksey Zemtsov, a Ka-52 pilot with the callsign “Voyevoda.” He says: “If you are watching this video, then I am no longer alive.”

He explains that he intends to take his own life due to alleged persecution by his command and the prospect of criminal charges for “discrediting the Russian army.”

According to the recording, Zemtsov initially ran the channel “Povernutye na voyne,” and later created his own channel. When it became known that he had been behind the first channel, he began to experience problems with the commander of the 11th Air Force and Air Defense Army, and later with Deputy Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces Vladimir Kravchenko, over a post claiming that Su-25 pilots were being forced to undergo drill training after combat sorties. Following this, Zemtsov was removed from flight duty.

Later, Zemtsov assaulted another administrator of “Voyevoda Veshchayet,” who turned out to be the lover of his wife, and demanded money from him. He was arrested and placed in a pre-trial detention center (SIZO). From there, he was reportedly released by unit commander Avramenko under the pretext of being sent to participate in the “special military operation” (SVO). While undergoing training in platoon commander courses, Zemtsov published a post showing a helmet issued to VKS pilots, which turned out to be used and manufactured in 1968. He was forced to publish a retraction, but was still returned to his deployment location.

According to Zemtsov’s version, an investigation against him was later reopened on the initiative of the same Kravchenko. Avramenko was interrogated and ultimately “changed his position”—whereas before he had supported Zemtsov and promised to “free him with the help of special forces,” he later filed a complaint against him for discrediting the Russian army. In the video, Zemtsov states that he does not intend to go to prison under this article and plans to commit suicide. “Next to my body will be a black folder containing a lot of interesting material on Kravchenko,” he says. He adds that if this video has been published on the channel, it means he is no longer alive.