Ukraine calls for ban on Russia's RT over its presenter's 'aggressive genocide incitement'

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has accused the RT presenter of "aggressive genocide incitement." He said that Ukraine will put the RT host on trial and called on the international community to impose a ban on the RT channel. Russian broadcaster RT presenter Anton Krasovsky said that Ukrainian children who said they were being occupied by Russia should be "thrown in a river with a strong undercurrent," during his interview with Science fiction writer Sergei Lukyanenko.

Kuleba shared a video of the interview on Twitter and called for an immediate ban on the RT channel. He tweeted, "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!" In the video, Sergei Lukyanenko said that he had visited Ukraine in 1980 and children were heard saying, "Ukraine is occupied by Moskals." Responding to his statement, Krasovsky said, "They should have been drowned in the Tysyna river, right there were ducklings swim. Just drown those children, drown them right in the Tysyna river. He further said, "Whoever says that Moskals occupied them, you throw them in the river with a strong undercurrent." 

RT ends 'cooperation' with Anton Krasovsky

On Monday, Anton Krasovsky apologised for his remarks and added that he was "truly embarrassed." He stressed that "you get carried away" when "you are in the middle of a broadcast," The Guardian reported. Margarita Simonyan, RT's Editor-in-Chief in a post, said that they are "halting cooperation" with Kravosky. Simonyan in a post further wrote, "neither I nor the rest of the RT team can allow even the thought to flash that one of us is capable of supporting such savagery." The head of Russia's investigative committee has said that they would review his statement as part of a potential criminal investigation. Notably, Kravosky started working in RT in 2020 after being appointed to lead the Russian-language broadcasting of RT.

Image: AP