FALSE: Valerii Zaluzhnyi stated that Russians as a nation should be killed — The Economist

There is information circulating online that Valerii Zaluzhnyi stated in an interview with The Economist that Russians should be killed. It is claimed that in this way, Zaluzhnyi allegedly confessed to the genocide of the Russian nation.

However, in the interview, Zaluzhnyi talks about eliminating Russian military personnel who are on Ukrainian territory.

The posts refer to an interview by Valerii Zaluzhnyi with The Economist. In the interview, Zaluzhnyi talks about how the Russo-Ukrainian war began for him in July 2014, but at that time, he had only a theoretical understanding of it. Over the course of eight years, he and others have gained skills and experience. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine used not only the theoretical knowledge it had in 2014 but also the skills and experience acquired throughout the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Zaluzhnyi continues, “And the most important experience we had and practice almost like a religion is that Russians and any other enemies should be killed, simply killed, and the main thing is that we should not be afraid to do it. And that’s what we do.” Therefore, Zaluzhnyi was referring to Russian military personnel who invaded Ukraine, not all Russians as a nation.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have repeatedly emphasized that they adhere to the rules of warfare and distinguish between military and civilian targets. In addition, Ukrainian military personnel undergo training in the in-depth study of the norms of International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Currently, Ukraine’s goal is to return to the borders of 1991 and expel the Russian army from Ukrainian territory.

In an interview with Dmytro Komarov, Valerii Zaluzhnyi also mentioned the need to eliminate Russian military personnel in Ukraine: “So as of today, they consciously come here from the Russian Federation to consciously kill Ukrainians, specifically to kill. And the essence of this war is that if we don’t eliminate this enemy now, we will be destroyed. Because they came here consciously, and they are currently suffering significant losses, including in the area of the Donetsk operational direction, near Bakhmut. But they still go to kill Ukrainians.”

According to international humanitarian law, military personnel are combatants and legitimate military targets during armed conflicts.