Calls to kill children: SBU notifies Russian propagandist Simonyan of suspicion

The SBU has issued a suspicion notice to Russian propagandist, RT CEO Margarita Simonyan, who is included in Vladimir Putin's media pool and has called for the murder of Ukrainian children, reports the SBU press office.

According to the investigation, she was one of the first media workers to vocally support Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the war crimes committed by the Russian troops.

Simonyan's newly documented crimes include public calls for the mass murder of Ukrainian children in December 2023.

"Furthermore, the Russian propagandist repeatedly campaigned for the continuation of missile and bomb strikes on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure. The woman regularly promotes pro-Kremlin narratives in the 'original' posts on her own Telegram channel and on the air of Russian TV, first and foremons by participating in the show of Russia's another propagandist, Vladimir Soloviev," the SBU said.

On the grounds of the collected evidence, the SBU investigators notified Simonyan of suspicion under four articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

• P. 2, Art. 442 (genocide);
• P. 2, Art. 110 (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine);
• Art. 436 (war propaganda);
• P. 3, Art. 436-2 (justification, recognition as legitimate, denial of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, glorification of its perpetrators).

Following the start of Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine, the Institute of Mass Information began to investigate the genocidal rhetoric regarding Ukraine and Ukrainians used by Russian propaganda.

The IMI has already submitted several cases to the International Criminal Court (ICC): in particular, those regarding shelling strikes on television towers and the murder of photojournalist Maksym Levin, one of the eight Ukrainian journalists who died while reporting.

In October 2022, the Institute of Mass Information started a series of publications on the Russian propagandists' information crimes in order to collect information that will help bring them to justice. The first installment of the series is dedicated to the head of the Russian state TV company "RT", Margarita Simonyan, who is well known for her calls for the annexation of Ukrainian territories and endorsement of the armed aggression against Ukrainians.  Another IMI study - "The Nuclear Strike on Vinnytsia and the Gulag for Zaporozhye Teachers. The Genocidal Rhetoric of Russian Propaganda" is available here.

On October 5, 2022, human rights and media organizations agreed to work with the Prosecutor General's Office to investigate Russia's war crimes against the media and journalists in Ukraine.