"Russian Broadcaster's Remark 'Ukrainian Children Who Criticize Russia Should Be Drowned in Rapids' Sparks Outrage"

Ukraine: "Mass Genocide Incitement Unrelated to Press Freedom"
Russia's State Broadcaster RT Suspends Contract with Talk Show Host

Children in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, where a Russian missile fell. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] A host on Russian state television has sparked controversy by making outrageous remarks, including saying that Ukrainian children who criticize Russia should have been drowned in a river.

According to The Telegraph and Sky News on the 23rd (local time), Anton Krasovsky (47), a host on Russian state broadcaster RT, said on his talk show last week, "Let's drown Ukrainian children who criticize Russia in the rapids."

The remarks came during an interview with Sergey Lukyanenko, a Russian science fiction (SF) writer known for his anti-Ukrainian stance. Lukyanenko recounted that when he visited western Ukraine in the 1980s, the children he met said, "If Russia had not occupied Ukraine, Ukraine would have been better off." In response, Krasovsky made a gesture as if grabbing the children's necks and throwing them into the river, saying with a smile, "Let's throw such children into the river and drown them."

The Ukrainian side expressed strong outrage. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba shared the broadcast video on Twitter that day, stating, "RT should be banned worldwide. Allowing RT in your country means supporting this broadcast content," and criticized it as "aggressive mass murder incitement unrelated to freedom of the press."

As the controversy grew, RT acknowledged the problem with Krasovsky's remarks and terminated his contract. Margarita Simonyan, RT's editor-in-chief, posted a statement on her Telegram account that day, saying, "Krasovsky's remarks are harsh and disgusting," and added, "The RT team, including myself, cannot even imagine that any of us could share such absurd words."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.