Pro-Russia former civil servant becomes first Brit to face Ukraine 'war crime' charges over clip of pigs eating dead soldiers
A former civil servant who has publicly voiced his support for Vladimir Putin has reportedly become the first Brit to face charges of war crimes over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Pro-Russian Graham Phillips, 46, is under investigation by the Met Police’s War Crimes Team over breaches of the Geneva Convention, according to reports.
One such alleged breach is the filming of pigs eating the remains of Ukrainian soldiers.
In the sickening video, posted in August 2022, a Russian soldier is seen picking up the ID of one of the fallen Ukrainians before a man, believed to be Phillips, asks, “is Yuri tasty?”
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The man goes on: “It’s a buffet!!! He’s also eating!! Munching, munching and munching! They’re not even shy.”
The vile video has been passed to the Met’s War Crimes Team, part of the counter terrorism command.
The War Crimes team has since confirmed it is “liaising” with the Crown Prosecution Service over Phillips’ actions in Ukraine.
According to a new report by the Sun, the investigation is focused on a number of breaches of the Geneva Convention, which calls for the remains of enemy combatants to be respected.
Article 34 of the convention reads: “The remains of persons who have died for reasons related to occupation or in detention resulting from occupation or hostilities shall be respected.”
Speaking to the publication, Phillips seemingly admitted to filming the video.
He said: “Why should I have intervened in that incident with the pigs?
“Those Ukrainian soldiers came to Donbas to murder the civilians of Donbas, who want to be with Russia, not part of the Ukrainian Nazi regime. They ended up becoming pig fodder.”
He added: “I could say it was pigs eating pigs, but that would be an insult to the pigs.”