A British individual who supports Putin has made disturbing comments when asked about his suspected involvement in war atrocities in Ukraine.
Graham Phillips, a former government employee, is currently being investigated by the Metropolitan Police’s War Crimes Team for his actions, including filming scenes of pigs consuming deceased Ukrainian soldiers and mistreating British prisoner Aiden Aslin. Despite facing scrutiny for his actions, Phillips boldly boasted about them.
On his Telegram account with 18,000 followers, Phillips shared images of news coverage in UK newspapers and stated, “Friends in the UK, keep your copies, and I’ll sign them for you upon my return as Prime Minister.” He had previously shown pride in sharing the pig video online in 2022.
In the disturbing video, a Russian soldier is seen handling a Ukrainian soldier’s identification card, with Phillips making callous remarks like, “Is Yuri tasty,” and further dehumanizing the situation by commenting, “It’s a buffet. He’s also eating. Munching, munching and munching. They’re not even shy.”
A spokesperson from the Metropolitan Police’s War Crimes Team confirmed that an investigation into Phillips began in 2022, and authorities are in communication with the Crown Prosecution Service.
The focus of the inquiry reportedly revolves around multiple instances where Phillips allegedly violated the Geneva Convention, particularly Article 34, which mandates respect for the remains of individuals who perished in conflicts and their burial sites.
Ukrainian politician Oleksiy Goncharenko criticized Phillips and commended UK agencies for probing his actions. Goncharenko stated, “He can’t even be called a journalist; he’s a propagandist and is just as culpable as other Russian propagandists… You can’t imagine the atrocities narrated on Russian propaganda TV, not only about Ukrainians but also about the British – and Phillips aids this. It’s positive that an inquiry has been initiated against him. I hope he faces trial one day because he is a war criminal.”
Phillips, who has been sanctioned by the UK government, resides in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol and has openly admitted to recording the pig video in the Donbas region. Phillips defended his inaction during the pig incident by stating, “Why should I have intervened in that incident with the pigs? Those Ukrainian soldiers came to Donbas to harm the local residents who wish to align with Russia, not the Ukrainian regime. They ended up as pig feed. I could say it was pigs eating pigs, but that would be an insult to the pigs.”
Phillips, known for spreading propaganda, criticized Donald Trump’s attempts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. Through his Telegram platform, Phillips expressed, “Let me clarify that no ‘Trump proposed peace plan’ involving Russia retaining control of Donbas through a ‘long term lease’ will ever be accepted.”
“Donbas is not Donald-bass, and we’re not discussing random Arabic territories here; we’re referring to Donbass, the symbolic core of Russia, and Donbass belongs to Russia indefinitely,” Phillips added.
The Metropolitan Police has been contacted for a response by The Mirror.