Russian TV presenter accused of inciting genocide in Ukraine
A pro-Kremlin television presenter has been accused of inciting genocide after calling for Ukrainian children to be “drowned” and “burned” alive during an interview on the state-funded RT channel.
Anton Krasovsky, the chief of Russian-language broadcasting for the channel formerly called Russia Today, said Ukrainian children who said they were being occupied by Russia should be “thrown in a river with a strong undercurrent”.
“They should have been drowned in the Tysyna [river],” said Krasovsky during an interview with the fantasy writer Sergei Lukyanenko. “Just drown these children. Drown them.”
Russian state media have previously hosted commentators who have denied the existence of Ukrainian culture or calling for the country’s total annexation by Russia.
But even in the era of Russian wartime propaganda, where it appears that anything goes, Krasovsky’s remarks have provoked a backlash.
On Monday, he was suspended from RT and the head of Russia’s powerful investigative committee said it would review his remarks as part of a potential criminal investigation.
In the interview, which was pre-recorded, edited, and later broadcast, Krasovsky also said that he believed such children should be “shoved into their huts and burned [alive]”. [Continue reading…]