A pundit on Russian state TV has caused outraged after admitting Vladimir Putin's goal is "to erase the very idea of being a Ukrainian ".
The chilling statement was made last night on Russian television as the pundit admitted the idea of being a Ukrainian "needs to be totally eradicated".
He even admitted he finds the name, "Ukrainians", to be an insult and the idea of being Ukrainian needs to disappear.
Carrying on with the disturbing statement, he said: "This idea (of being Ukrainian) needs to be erased from start to finish. It's been poisoning the lives of slavic people, for 100 years.
"In reality, Russian people we're told 'now you're going to be' (Ukrainian's). Even though the name itself is insulting, an insulting name, to be one of the Russian's people and to suddenly become Ukrainians.
"The idea of being a Ukrainian, and one of the Russian people was told they're not Russian, you have to hate Russian's and fight them. This idea needs to be totally eradicated."
The alarming statement from the television pundit came after he admitted genocide is the target for President Putin and his invasion of Ukraine was to "eradicate" the idea of being Ukrainian.
He also went onto say the war in Ukraine will go for as long as Russians have "eradicated" the very idea of being Ukrainian.
The state pundit admitted: "And this work will go on for a long time. How long we'll be eradicating it out of them but we start eradicating them?And before they start to realise they have to get educated and see a different life.
"First, they have to be convincingly defeated."
The comments come just days after US President Joe Biden accused Vladimir Putin of "genocide" for his devastating invasion of Ukraine.
President Biden said that Putin was "just trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian".
He told journalists: "Yes, I called it genocide because it has become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out the idea of being able to be Ukrainian and the evidence is mounting."
Biden has consistently called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, but it marked the first time he accused Russia of committing outright genocide in Ukraine.
He said: "We'll let the lawyers decide internationally whether or not it qualifies, but it sure seems that way to me."
Shortly after Biden's remarks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted: "True words of a true leader @POTUS.
"Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil."
Genocide is an intent to destroy - in whole or in part - a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
Under the UN convention, this includes through killings; serious bodily or mental harm; inflicting lethal conditions and measures to prevent births, among other means.
