Russia-Ukraine war: Controversial Moscow presenter says Ukrainian children who complain should be killed

Anton Krasovsky, presenter of Russian state-controlled RT media outlet. Photo / Instagram

Ukraine has called for a global ban on the Russian state-controlled RT media outlet after a presenter promoted genocide and promised to drown children.

Anton Krasovsky, an RT director, mimicked how he would grab Ukrainian children by the scruff of their necks and drown them in a river during his chat show on Sunday morning.

“Just drown those children, drown them in the Tysa,” the 47-year-old presenter said. “You throw them in the river with a strong undercurrent.”

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said in a tweet that linked to a clip of the interview: Krasovsky was interviewing Sergei Lukyanenko, a Russian sci-fi author who holds strong anti-Ukraine views, when he said that he wanted to kill Ukrainian children.

Lukyanenko had been talking about how he had made visits to western Ukraine as a child and met Russian-speaking children there who blamed Russia for occupying the country.

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

Later, Krasovsky said that all Ukrainians should be killed.

“Shove them right into their huts and burn them,” he said and cracked a grin. “We will shoot them.”

Propaganda could take generations to unwind

Throughout the show, Krasovsky constantly referred to Ukrainians using a racist slur.

Russian television is filled with propaganda talk shows like Krasovsky’s, which are watched by hundreds of thousands of people.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has relied on state television propaganda to promote his war in Ukraine - which he has justified as a rescue mission to save Ukrainians from Nazis.

Analysts have warned that this propaganda bombardment and state-promoted hatred of Ukrainians has corrupted people and will take generations to unwind.

Krasovsky is already a controversial figure and, even among Kremlin supporters, is considered extreme. He has called Ukrainians animals and said that they should be wiped out.

On Oct 10, after Russian missiles struck cities across Ukraine - killing 23 people in retaliation for an explosion on the bridge that links Crimea to the Russian mainland - Krasovsky videoed himself laughing and dancing.

“To say that I am happy is an understatement,” he said. “I’m dancing on the balcony in Russian army pyjamas.”

RT, formerly called Russia Today, is headed by Margarita Simonyan, one of Putin’s favourite propagandists. The EU has banned it as Kremlin disinformation.