Russian state broadcaster RT has suspended and condemned one of its top presenters, Anton Krasovsky, after he called for the burning and drowning of Ukrainian children.

His remarks on TV provoked uproar on social media and he has now apologised.

Krasovsky was responding to science fiction writer Sergei Lukyanenko, who said that in western Ukraine back in 1980 he had heard children saying “Ukraine is occupied by Muscovites”.

RT news is staunchly pro-Kremlin.

In the interview Krasovsky smirked as he said “just drown those children, drown them”. Alternatively, he said, they could be shoved into huts and burned.

He also joked about Russian soldiers raping Ukrainian grandmothers.

RT’s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, condemned Krasovsky’s comments as “wild and disgusting”.

Ukraine has accused the channel of inciting genocide. Russian state television has given much air time to pundits and presenters who strongly support the war against Ukraine and call for more military aggression. They routinely dismiss evidence of Russian atrocities, alleging they are Ukrainian “fabrications” – echoing the Kremlin’s position.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, which handles serious crimes, is now investigating Krasovsky’s comments, though it is not yet clear what Russian law, if any, he may have violated.

On Monday Krasovsky apologised, saying “well, it happens: you’re on air, you get carried away, and you can’t stop”. He said he was “really embarrassed.”

Krasovsky came to prominence internationally when he defended LGBT rights and criticised Russia’s law banning gay information campaigns that target minors. The law’s supporters claim to be combating “gay propaganda”.

For the past two years Krasovsky has been director of Russian-language broadcasting on RT. He is under EU sanctions because of his strong support for President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a prominent London-based anti-Kremlin activist, expressed scorn for RT’s stance. He tweeted: “Margarita Simonyan doesn’t want to co-operate any more with Anton Krasovsky, who calls for Ukrainian children to be killed. But with Putin, who kills Ukrainian children, Margarita Simonyan does want to co-operate”.

BBC Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford tweets that hate speech is now the norm on Russian state TV when it comes to Ukraine, and Krasovsky is just the tip of the iceberg. (BBC)

Update news