Ukraine has accused state-controlled Russian television RT of inciting genocide after its host said Ukrainian children who perceived Russians as Soviet-era occupiers should have drowned, Reuters reported.
On a program last week, Russian fiction writer Sergei Lukyanenko recounted how, on his first visit to Ukraine in the 1980s, local children told him they would live better if Moscow did not occupy their country.
To this, presenter Anton Krasovski replied: “They must have drowned in the Tissina River. Drown these children, drown them.”
Alternatively, he suggested they lock them up in the barracks and burn them.
In an excerpt from the interview released on social media, Krasovsky is seen laughing at reports that Russian soldiers raped elderly Ukrainian women during the invasion.
“Governments that have not yet banned RT should look at this excerpt,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted.
“This is an aggressive incitement to genocide (which is why we will bring this man to justice) that has nothing to do with free speech. Prohibition of RT worldwide,” Kuleba added.
Krasowski is a TV commentator known for his pro-war views. EU sanctions have been imposed on him.
A few hours after the scandal broke, the TV channel’s chief editor, Margarita Simonyan, said that Krasovski had been suspended for his “disgusting” comments.
No one on RT shared his views, he said. In a statement on RT’s website, Simonyan added: “To the children of Ukraine, as well as to the children of the Donbass and all the other children, I wish that all this ends as soon as possible and that they can live and learn again in peace – in the language they consider their mother tongue.”
A Russian TV host apologized today for calling for the drowning of Ukrainian children, and the Russian investigative committee said it was investigating these comments, Reuters reported.
Krasovski wrote in a social media post that he “feels really uncomfortable”. “Well, it happens: you’re on the air, you get carried away and you can’t stop … I apologize to anyone who has been fooled,” he said.
RT is a Kremlin-controlled state broadcaster that has been the spokesperson for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, often asking Russian President Vladimir Putin to take an even more aggressive approach to warfare. However, according to authorities, Krasovski’s comments overshot the mark. The investigative committee, which investigates serious crimes, said it was instructed to look into his “sharp statements” and ordered an investigation.
