A British former civil servant is facing potential war crimes charges after filming pigs eating the bodies of dead Ukrainian soldiers, and allegedly mistreating a British prisoner of war.
Graham Phillips, 46, is being investigated by the Counter Terrorism Policing War Crimes Team over suspected breaches of the Geneva Convention.
Phillips was seen in the Donbas alongside Russian troops as pigs consumed the remains of Ukrainian soldiers, openly mocking the dead as he filmed the disturbing scene.
In footage posted in August 2022, Phillips picks up an ID card belonging to one of the dead men and asks:
“Is Yuri tasty?”
He continues laughing as pigs feed, saying:
“It’s a buffet. He’s also eating! Munching, munching and munching. They’re not even shy. Eat, be healthy.”
He then adds another taunt:
“It turns out he was useful for someone.”
Phillips has admitted filming the video in Donbas and said he had no issue with the bodies being left as “pig fodder”.
Claims of Abusing a British PoW
Phillips is also being investigated for his filmed interrogation of British prisoner of war Aiden Aslin, 31.
Aslin, who served with Ukrainian forces, was handcuffed, injured and distressed during the 45-minute interrogation, in which Phillips taunted him about possibly facing the death penalty under the laws of the self-declared “Donetsk People’s Republic”.
The footage was later removed from Facebook and YouTube.
It was not the first time Phillips had questioned prisoners on camera. He has previously carried out similar interviews for Russian-backed outlets while insisting he was an independent journalist.
Controversial Online History
Phillips, originally from Nottingham, ran a blog called A Brit in Ukraine, where he frequently wrote about Ukrainian women.
Posts included “The Beautiful Girls of Ukraine (#1)” and “Ukrainian Girls are Smokin’.”
He also appeared in a 2014 BBC radio documentary in which he cheerfully described a meeting with an “angel-like” prostitute.
Another British PoW, Shaun Pinner, 52, who was tortured after being captured during the siege of Mariupol in April 2022, also claims Phillips violated international law.
He described the interrogation of Aslin as “one of the clearest examples” of a Geneva Convention breach.
Pinner was later sentenced to death before being released in a prisoner swap.
Phillips Responds
Phillips has claimed ownership of both videos and denies any wrongdoing.
In comments to The Sun, 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… They ended up becoming pig fodder.”
On Aslin, he said:
“I understand he has some issues with how he was treated, well, where did he think he was coming, Centre Parcs?”
He added that he would have a “clear conscience” if charged and would cooperate fully, describing himself as “patriotic” and saying he hopes to return to the UK.
Ongoing War Crimes Investigation
A spokesperson for Counter Terrorism Policing confirmed that the case was referred to in March 2022, and an investigation was subsequently opened.
They said officers are working with the CPS and liaising with international partners.
No arrests have been made, and no one has been interviewed under caution.
Phillips is already the only British citizen sanctioned by his own government.
If formally charged, he would become the first Briton to face a war crimes trial since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
