Veteran British TV presenter Jeremy Vine has been condemned for his on-air assertion that Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine "deserve to die".
The former BBC Panorama and Newsnight host received a call to his morning show on Channel 5 from "Bill in Manchester" on Monday, who repeated Ukrainian government claims that Russian troops had no will to fight and were surrendering in large numbers and were therefore "not our enemy".
"The brutal reality is that if you put on a uniform for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and you go and fight his war, you probably deserve to die, don't you?" Vine responded.
"Do you? Do kids deserve to die, 18, 20, called up, conscripted? Who don't understand it, who don't grasp the issues?" 'Bill' replied — although Moscow has asserted that all troops serving in the Ukraine operation are full-time soldiers.
"That's life, that's the way it goes," Vine replied, apparently channelling the iconic 20th century American singer Frank Sinatra.
Twitter users tore into the host over his comments — which was thought by some to be encouraging the reported Ukrainian far-right paramilitaries to murder Russian prisoners of war, in breach of the Geneva conventions.
Tweet condemning Jeremy Vine's comment that Russian soldiers "deserve to die".
One accused Vine of trying to "shut down" a caller who highlighted allegations by Africans in Ukraine that they had been mistreated by authorities.
Tweet criticising Jeremy Vine for downplaying mistreatment of Africans by Ukrainian authorities