War in Ukraine: This well-known British YouTuber accused of war crimes

Nottingham-born, former Whitehall civil servant Graham Phillips has been accused of war crimes in Ukraine after releasing a YouTube video of himself interviewing a fellow Briton captured by the Russian army.

YouTuber spreading Russian propaganda

As reported by The Telegraph, Phillips 'started his professional life as a faceless bureaucrat for the now-defunct Central Office of Information,' the UK government’s marketing and communications agency. But he is now being accused of 'spreading Russian lies and propaganda' via his video blogs from Ukraine.

Phillips left the civil service in 2010 and moved to Ukraine 'where he wrote a blog reviewing nightclubs and brothels,' and observations of daily life, as reported by The Times. He was soon attracted to the country’s pro-Moscow separatist groups and started recording his own YouTube videos.

In 2013, Phillips was hired briefly as a freelance journalist by state-owned broadcaster Russia Today (RT), reporting from Ukraine’s occupied Crimea region and later Donbas. He became a favourite spokesperson for pro-Russian breakaway governments in the Donbas region.

In 2014, Phillips was banned from Ukraine on suspicion of being a Russian spy, however, he has since returned multiple times. He denied being associated with the Russian state, claiming that he is an independent journalist and that his work was 'supported by crowdfunding from individuals across the world who want to see the truth.'

YouTuber accused of war crimes

Now, the pro-Kremlin YouTuber is being accused in parliament of potential war crimes after interviewing a fellow Briton captured by Russian forces. Aiden Aslin, originally from Nottinghamshire, was defending the besieged city Mariupol but was forced to surrender after running out of food and ammunition.

Aslin's family have condemned the ‘shocking’ video, in which Phillips is seen to 'verbally probe and prod' a 'visibly handcuffed' Aslin. In a statement, they said

The video of Aiden speaking under duress and having clearly suffered physical injuries is deeply distressing. Using images and videos of prisoners of war is in contravention of the Geneva Convention and must stop.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed concern to MPs about Phillips’ 'propaganda messages' featuring Aslin. He encouraged the Russian state to treat Aslin, 'humanely and compassionately,' and denied claims he was a 'mercenary,' as insisted by Phillips in the video.

Aslin’s local MP Robert Jenrick described his constituent in the video as 'handcuffed, physically injured and being interviewed under duress for propaganda purposes.' He said the 'misuse' of the Briton was a 'disgraceful and flagrant breach of the Geneva Convention' on the treatment of prisoners of war and that 'the interviewer Graham Phillips is in danger of prosecution for war crimes.'

Politicians have called for Phillips' channel to be removed but YouTube has so far declined to take down his videos.

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