He also denied Ukraine’s right to exist, called for Ukrainians to be shot and joked about the rape of women there
A Russian TV presenter apologized today for calling for the drowning of Ukrainian children, while Russia’s state-run Investigative Committee announced it was investigating his comments as the incident has caused an uproar not only abroad, but in Russia itself.
In a show last week on the state-controlled RT television network, host Anton Krasovsky said that children in Ukraine who consider Russians to be invaders in their country should either be thrown into a river with a strong current to drown or to be locked in a hut and set on fire.
He also denied Ukraine’s right to exist, called for Ukrainians to be shot and joked about the rape of women there.
Yesterday, Ukraine called RT an instigator of genocide and said it should be banned worldwide.
Calling his comments “disgusting”, Margarita Simonyan, the director of the station, commented that Krasovsky was seized with “temporary insanity” and said that the channel’s cooperation with him was temporarily ending.
“Anton Krasovsky’s comments are barbaric and disgusting,” Simonian commented today on Telegram, emphasizing that no employee of the network shares his views.
In a post on social media, Krasovsky himself wrote that he was “very ashamed”.
“It happens, you’re in the air, you’re drifting and you can’t stop. I apologize to everyone who was shocked by this,” he wrote.
Public television, which is closely controlled by the Kremlin, has strongly supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, often calling on President Vladimir Putin to take an even more aggressive stance toward the war.
But Krasowski’s comments appear to have crossed the line for authorities.
The Commission of Inquiry, which handles serious misconduct, said it had been asked to investigate his “sharp statements” and had ordered a report.
As head of the station’s Russian-language program, Krasovsky has been expressing his hatred of Ukraine for months. The 47-year-old has been on the list of people who have been sanctioned by the EU since February.
Krasovsky, who was once considered a liberal journalist, has attracted attention several times in recent years for glorifying violence.
In early October, he was celebrating the Russian missile strikes in Ukraine. “I’m dancing on my balcony wearing a robe that says “Russian Army”,” he said at the time.
“Those governments that have not yet banned RT should watch this clip,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted, linking to a clip from the show.
He also said Ukraine would put Krasovsky on trial for “aggressive incitement to genocide”.
In a statement on RT’s website, Simonyan wrote: “For the children in Ukraine, as well as for the children in Donbass and for all the other children, I wish that this all ends as soon as possible and that they can live and go to school to be taught peacefully again — in the language they consider their mother tongue.”
Governments which still have not banned RT must watch this excerpt. This is what you side with if you allow RT to operate in your countries. Aggressive genocide incitement (we will put this person on trial for it), which has nothing to do with freedom of speech. Ban RT worldwide! https://t.co/xJC371rqyg
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) October 23, 2022
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