Russian man self-immolated to protest Ukraine war, but authorities suppressed the story, investigation finds

A 37-year-old programmer from Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad set himself on fire in protest against the war in Ukraine, though Russian authorities quickly moved to suppress the incident, according to a joint investigation by independent outlet IStories, Estonian news agency Delfi Estonia, and Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT.

Alexander Okunev reportedly carried out the act of self-immolation at around 5:00 on 24 February 2025, the third anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion, near a memorial to 1,200 Soviet guardsmen. The words “No to war” had been spray-painted on the snow beside his body. The timing appears to have been deliberate: Russian missile strikes on Kyiv in 2022 began at almost exactly that hour. The day before, the same memorial had been the site of celebrations for Russia’s Defender of the Fatherland holiday.

Despite numerous surveillance cameras at the site, Okunev’s charred body was only discovered by a passing stranger at around 6:40. Kaliningrad Mayor Elena Dyatlova was informed, and by 9:15 the scene had been cleared. Officials reported up the chain of command that nothing had been witnessed, and the story never appeared in any media outlet. Okunev’s family also did not speak publicly about what had happened. The incident only came to light when Estonia’s foreign intelligence service referenced it in an open report earlier this month, without naming the victim or providing details.

Those who knew Okunev described him as a private, solitary figure who avoided political conversations, had few friends, and lived alone. He had worked as a systems administrator at a retail equipment company before quitting his job six months before his death, after which, according to acquaintances, he largely withdrew from contact with others. His behaviour in the days before his death had seemed entirely normal, and those who knew him said the news came as a complete shock.

A person close to Okunev relayed the contents of his suicide note to journalists. “He wrote that there is another way,” they said. “In his world, it seems, there was supposed to be peace everywhere. He no longer wanted to live in a world like this, and so he made his decision.”