A State Duma deputy called for the extermination of half of Ukraine's population
Alexei Zhuravlev, a member of the Russian State Duma, has made yet another controversial statement about Ukraine. During an interview, he openly stated that, in the name of fighting so-called “Nazism,” it would allegedly be acceptable to exterminate up to half of the country’s population.
The Russian politician explained his remarks by saying that, in his opinion, some Ukrainians will not change their views. He also stated that those who do not “change their ways” should either be expelled or killed.
Zhuravlev made these scandalous statements during a conversation with Russian lawyer and blogger Ivan Mironov. During the conversation, Mironov asked the lawmaker how many people he believed were currently in Ukraine whom he refers to as “Nazis.” Zhuravlev replied that previously they made up about two percent, but now, according to him, they allegedly account for 20–30%.
After that, his interlocutor asked whether all such people should be exterminated. “It would be desirable. All Nazis must be exterminated. All of them. You see, if there are fifty—even fifty percent—they must be eliminated… To ensure that this plague doesn’t exist there, so that no one threatens us,” stated the Russian State Duma deputy.
Zhuravlev also claimed that he had allegedly witnessed firsthand how “they’re hanging everyone indiscriminately,” but provided no evidence to support his claims. He added that, in his view, some Ukrainians might change their stance. “If they don’t change their ways, they must be eliminated, of course,” said the Russian lawmaker.
During the conversation, Mironov also asked how, in Zhuravlev’s opinion, one could distinguish a “fascist” from other people. In response, the lawmaker stated that the criterion is allegedly the possession of a weapon. “If he has an automatic rifle—yes, he must be eliminated. Why distinguish him? If you see him—kill him,” he said.
In addition, Zhuravlev claimed that many Ukrainians would supposedly change their views quickly. As an example, he cited a phrase he attributed to a “native Ukrainian”: “Lviv has never welcomed any army in the world without bread and salt.” After that, the lawmaker repeated his calls for violence. “If you don’t want to change your ways—you must either be expelled from there or destroyed,” he said.
This is not the first time Oleksiy Zhuravlev has made aggressive statements about Ukraine. Since the start of the full-scale war, Russian government officials and propagandists have repeatedly and publicly used rhetoric containing calls for violence, denials of Ukraine’s right to exist, and other statements that have drawn international criticism. There has been no official reaction from international organizations or Russian authorities to Zhuravlev’s remarks so far, according to Russian media reports.
The Kremlin has once again resorted to nuclear rhetoric. Russian Presidential Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia is allegedly prepared to use nuclear weapons only in the event of a threat to the state’s existence, and he also repeated Moscow’s traditional statements regarding the war against Ukraine and relations with the West.
