A 27-year-old Russian rapper, Ivan Vitalievich Petunin, took his own life recently to avoid being drafted into President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine after declaring that he was “not ready to kill for any ideals.” The rapper who performed under the stage name ‘Walkie’ was found dead on Friday after jumping from a high-rise apartment building in the city of Krasnodar, according to media sources. The rapper's death has since been confirmed by his girlfriend and his mother, who spoke about the incident to a Russian media organisation.
According to reports, Ivan committed suicide by throwing himself off the 10th floor. Before the tragic incident, the rapper also filmed himself delivering a heart-wrenching suicide message that was posted to his Telegram channel.
“If you are watching this video, then I am no longer alive. I can't take the sin of murder on my soul and I don't want to. I am not ready to kill for any ideals. To murder someone in war or otherwise is something I cannot do. It seems to me that partial mobilisation will become full in a few days. Forgive me, my loved ones, but sometimes you have to die for your principles. My last decision is exactly how I die (sic),” the rapper said in the video in Russian.
Reports stated that Walkie had nearly 40,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. The recording artist had been releasing music since 2013. Sources added that the rapper had reportedly previously served in the army and had been treated in a mental hospital.
Media sources said that in a letter to his girlfriend, Ivan wrote that because of Russia's sham 'referendums' that led to the annexation of four regions of Ukraine last week, “everyone will go to the front lines.” “People with psychosocial ailments ever worse than mine are already being sent there without any hesitation,” Ivan said in the letter.
Sources stated that Ivan’s suicide came as Russian men were fleeing the warring nation in droves or breaking their arms to avoid being conscripted into military action following Putin's September 21 address that called for 300,000 reservists to be sent to battle. According to reports, nearly 200,000 Russians had fled to neighbouring Georgia, Kazakhstan and Finland since the announcement, risking 10-year prison sentences if captured.