Alexei Zhuravlev, a lawmaker in the Russian State Duma, said it would be acceptable to exterminate up to half of Ukraine’s population to eradicate what he called “Nazism”

During an interview, blogger Ivan Mironov asked Zhuravlev, “How many Nazis do you think there are in Ukraine now?” Zhuravlev then claimed the figure had once been around 2 percent but was now “perhaps 20-30%”

When Mironov asked whether they should all be exterminated, Zhuravlev responded by saying “desirably”

“All Nazis must be exterminated. All of them. You see, even if it’s 50 percent – even 50 percent – they must be exterminated… So that this plague won’t be there, so that no one will threaten us,” he said

According to Zhuravlev, he had personally witnessed atrocities allegedly committed by Ukrainians

“I saw with my own eyes when these bastards come and hang everyone in sight – Russian, non-Russian, regardless of your views,” he claimed

“If this plague isn’t eradicated from there, it will remain forever,” he added

Zhuravlev acknowledged that some Ukrainians could change their views but insisted that those who did not should be killed

“If they don’t change their minds, they must be destroyed, of course,” he said

When Mironov asked how to distinguish a “fascist” from a non-fascist, Zhuravlev said the presence of a weapon was the defining criterion

“If he has a machine gun, yes, he must be destroyed. What’s there to distinguish? If you see him, kill him,” Zhuravlev said

He then reiterated that those unwilling to “change their minds” should either be deported or killed

“If you don’t want to change your minds, you must either be expelled from there or destroyed,” he said