A former British comedian and civil servant is under investigation for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, making him the first U.K. national to face such scrutiny since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion.
Graham Phillips, 46, a YouTuber and pseudo-journalist living in Russian-occupied Mariupol and sanctioned by the U.K., is the subject of an investigation by the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Team over alleged breaches of the Geneva Convention, the British daily The Sun reported.
The investigation is linked two incidents, one in which he films and publishes a video of pigs eating the remains of a Ukrainian soldier. The other incident involves his alleged mistreatment of British prisoner of war Aiden Aslin, who was captured while fighting for Ukraine.
Each act would constitute a violation of international humanitarian law.
A spokesperson for the British counterterrorism unit confirmed that an investigation into “allegations against a U.K. national alleged to have committed war crimes in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict” was opened in 2022, though no arrests or interviews have been made.
The footage passed to investigators includes a five-minute clip Phillips admitted filming in war-torn Donbas. It shows a group of pigs in a forest appearing to eat the remains of a fallen Ukrainian soldier.
The video shows a Russian soldier examining the ID of the Ukrainian, prompting Phillips to ask: “Is Yuri tasty?” The footage clearly shows Phillips actively participating in the act, rather than documenting it as a journalist.
He told The Sun: “Why should I have intervened in that incident with the pigs? … 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.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross also states that parties to a conflict must take all possible measures to prevent the dead from being despoiled.
Police are also examining his 2022 interview with Aslin, in which Phillips films the dead-eyed, handcuffed, and bruised Briton, shoving a handheld camera in his face and asking degrading questions such as ‘Why he should escape the death penalty.’
British MPs previously called the video a “flagrant breach” of the Geneva Convention, which prohibits filming designed to humiliate prisoners of war. Aslin was later returned to the U.K. in a prisoner swap.
Phillips, who built a digital following with pro-Russian content and previously worked briefly for Kremlin-backed RT, has long drawn criticism for his activities in separatist-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine.
His YouTube channel has amassed more than 100 million views, and he has described his income as coming from viewers “who want to see the truth.”
He first traveled to Ukraine for a football match as a supporter and then moved to the eastern parts of the country in 2011, where he occupied himself with posting online reviews of brothels, the British newspaper The Guardian reported.
Phillips would be the first Briton to face a war-crimes prosecution stemming from the Ukraine conflict, if charges are brought.
Phillips said police have never contacted him and denied wrongdoing, telling The Sun he would “cooperate fully” if formally accused.
The British citizen, who has received political asylum in Russia, maintains that he is a staunch U.K. patriot and that at some point he wants to return to his homeland.
