The head of Russia Today TV channel Margarita Simonyan says that religion forces her to forgive director Anton Krasovsky, who suggested drowning or burning Ukrainian children.

The comments, made by Krasovsky live on Sunday on Russia Today, a station banned by the European Union since February 27, shocked international opinion and drew condemnation, particularly in Russia.

On Monday, Margarita Simonyan announced that the station had “for now” stopped working with Krasovsky, calling his statement “wild and disgusting”.

“Neither I nor the rest of the RT team can even think that any of us can share such savagery,” Simonyan wrote on her Telegram channel.

Anton Krasovsky explained the shocking statements about Ukrainian children, apologizing and saying that he may have “slipped” during the show.

“I’m really embarrassed that I somehow didn’t see that line. About children. Well, it happens like this: you live, you go with the flow. And you can’t stop. I apologize to anyone who was startled by this. I apologize to Margarita (Simonian, no) and to everyone for whom it seemed wild, unthinkable and overwhelming,” he said.

Margarita Simonyan says that her faith forces her to forgive her comments about the killing of Ukrainian children

American journalist Julia Davis, known for her monitoring of television and the press in Russia, notes in an article in The Daily Beast that in the last two days, Margarita Simonyan has been preparing the ground for Krasovsky’s forgiveness and possible resumption of cooperation with him.

Davis notes that the head of Russia Today re-circulated different versions of Krasovsky’s apology message on Twitter and his Telegram channel, none of which were addressed to Ukrainians.

On the contrary, a Russian journalist complained that he unwittingly erased the lines between “our right and wrong…between us and them (Ukrainians)” and suffered for the children on both sides of the conflict.

And in an intervention on the show “Evening with Volodymyr Solovyov” on Tuesday night, Simonyan said that:

“In our culture, in Russian culture, in Orthodox culture, there are mandatory things, if we treat the Christian faith and this culture.”

“More precisely, forgiving someone who repents is not only recommended, but also required. Anton apologized many times in the video, where he called himself reckless and stupid, and tried to explain why he said what he said,” Margarita Simonyan reasoned.

“And for me, my religion is the only imperative, the only guideline for words and deeds,” she also said on Tuesday evening in Solovyov’s show on the Russia-1 channel.

Julia Davis also points out that Simonyan is not the only one defending the journalist, some commentators on Russian television are also criticizing Russia Today for its decision to end cooperation with Krasovsky.

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