| Graham Phillips | |
| Birth Place: | United Kingdom |
| Nationality: | British |
| Occupation: | freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker |
| Channel Display Name: | Graham Phillips |
| Years Active: | 2009–2023 (channel deleted by YouTube) |
Graham William Phillips (born 1979) is a British journalist, self-styled 'indie journo', documentary filmmaker and former YouTuber who is under UK Government sanctions for "producing and publishing pro-Russian disinformation and propaganda about the Ukraine War".[1] The sanctions on Phillips are an asset freeze.[2]
Phillips previously worked as a stringer for the Russian state-owned television networks RT (2013–14) and Zvezda (2014–15).[3] [4] He then reported for his YouTube channel from Russian-controlled territory during the Donbas War in Ukraine, for which he received several medals, including one from Russia's Federal Security Service.[2] During the later Russian invasion of Ukraine, Phillips has made videos from the occupied territories, in his frontline videos he has filmed himself wearing Russian military fatigues and displaying the Russian Z symbol.[2] Phillips describes himself as an "independent British journalist" and that his work is "supported by crowdfunding from individuals across the world who want to see the truth" and provides a "counterbalance” to widespread western misunderstanding of the true situation in the region (Donbas)."[5] [6] Phillips' YouTube channel was deleted in July 2023, he moved his content to Rumble, Telegram, and other social media.[2]
Phillips was accused by at least one UK politician of committing a war crime in Ukraine by breaching the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War in his April 2022 interview with Aiden Aslin, an accusation he denies.[3] [7] In July 2022, the government of the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on him, stating that his work "supports and promotes actions and policies which destabilise Ukraine and undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty, or independence of Ukraine".[8] Phillips was the first mono-British citizen to be added to the sanctions list, and remains the only mono-British national to be sanctioned by the UK.[9] In early 2024, after a December 2023 hearing, the Royal Courts of Justice ruled against Phillips' sanctions appeal.[10] The Court judgment stated that Phillips had "published propagandist video content which glorifies the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its atrocities, and promotes disinformation advanced by Russia".[11] Phillips maintains that he is a journalist who works independently of the Russian regime.[12]
Phillips' birthplace has been listed as either Nottingham, or Newcastle in England, or Dundee in Scotland. [13] [14] [3] [15] He attended Perth High School,[16] and later graduated from the University of Dundee with a dual degree in philosophy and history in the early 2000s. During his student years, Phillips had started to do some freelance journalism, faxing articles into The Scotsman, and doing an internship with The Guardian.[17] [2] He also tried his hand at stand-up comedy at this time, performing alongside Miles Jupp, and Frankie Boyle. While at university, Phillips led the campaign to have Baywatch actor David Hasselhoff installed as rector. Hasselhoff ultimately declined the post due to other commitments.[14]
After university, Phillips moved to London where he worked a number of years for the now-defunct Central Office of Information, as a clerk, reviewing government websites and preparing reports for the Parliament of the United Kingdom, later speaking of his frustration at the mundanity of this work.[18]
Phillips first visited Ukraine in 2009 when he travelled to Dnipropetrovsk for an England match. He then moved to Ukraine in 2010, looking for the chance to 'reboot' his life, and do journalistic work. He was 31, and initially began working in Kiev as an English teacher. At this time, Phillips started a blog, Brit in Ukraine, with articles on politics, history, life in Ukraine, UEFA Euro 2012 and sex tourism, including entries about prostitutes, call girls, foreign-bride hunters and sex tourists. The blog was renamed to 'Graham W Phillips', then the 'Truth Speaker', and eventually deleted.[4] [19]
In 2012, Phillips started work in Kyiv as a journalist for What's On magazine, his work there included interviews with Chris Rea and Sergei Baltacha.[20] [21] [22] After leaving What's On, Phillips worked as a freelance journalist from Ukraine, publishing several articles, including two for the New Statesman,[23] three for the Kyiv Post[24] and three for Pravda, among others.[25] [26] In November 2012, Phillips' article for Pravda opined about the gloomy atmosphere in Ukraine after the highs of Euro 2012, and worries for the future.[27]
Phillips's work as a freelance journalist in Ukraine often focused on crime, as he covered the murder of Oksana Makar, a Ukrainian woman raped and burned alive, and Barry Pring, a British man killed outside Kyiv.[28] [29] In early 2013, Phillips self-published a book, Ukraine – Men, Women, Sex, Murder, which culminated with his investigation into the death of Barry Pring. The book was removed from sale after legal action by Anna Ziuzina, the woman he accused of Pring's murder.[30]
For his blog in 2012 and 2013, Phillips wrote a series of articles highly critical of Ukrainian nationalist politician Stepan Bandera and the Ukrainian nationalist party Svoboda, referring to Bandera as a "Nazi", and Svoboda as "neo-Nazis".[31] Phillips was opposed to Euromaidan from the start, in November 2013, describing protesters as 'paid mercenaries', and 'right-wing terrorists'.[32] Phillips began doing interviews with Russian state channel RT at this time, also doing street interviews across Ukraine, for his YouTube channel.[33]
In March 2014, living in Odesa, Phillips drove to Crimea, as Russia took control of the peninsula. Phillips wrote an article for Politico magazine, writing that most of the people he had spoken to in Crimea supported Russia.[34] Phillips then went to work part-time for RT as a reporter in Donbas in April 2014, covering the Russo-Ukrainian War, after multiple RT crews were denied entry into Ukraine. Phillips said at this time, that although he was working as a freelancer / stringer for RT, his priority was developing his own YouTube channel. Phillips often reported from Crimea in the years after the 2014 Russian annexation.
The Guardian wrote in May 2014 that Phillips had "gained notoriety during the conflict in the east for his gonzo-style subjective reports and his sharp online criticism of the Maidan protests and the new Ukrainian government."[35] Much of the attention on Phillips was generated by his prolific use of his YouTube channel, with him often uploading 20-30 videos per day, something he combined with his work for RT. In the course of doing video reports from Donbas in Spring of 2014, Phillips was initially taken captive by both sides.[36] [37] In May 2014, Phillips was captured by the Armed Forces of Ukraine while reporting from Mariupol. After a day in detention, he was released on the condition that he would immediately leave Ukraine.[35] [38] RT expressed outrage over the treatment of Phillips, who was described as a 'sometime RT correspondent'.[36]
After covering the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil as a journalist and England football fan, Phillips returned to report from Donbas in the summer of 2014, an apparent violation of the terms of his May release. Phillips was swiftly captured by Ukrainian forces again at Donetsk International Airport, being held for three days, and then deported into Poland and banned from Ukraine for three years. Phillips stated that he was maltreated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine during his detention at the airport, who had stolen his car, a Rover 75, while Ukraine accused Phillips of "supporting terrorism" as a "Kremlin propagandist".[39] Despite his ban, Phillips returned again to Ukraine in August 2014. In November 2014, Phillips was wounded in the back by shrapnel while reporting from the frontlines of the war in Donbas.[40] At this time, Phillips was working for Russian state channel Zvezda, as a freelancer, having parted company with RT following his second deportation from Ukraine, along with uploading videos to his YouTube channel.[41]
In late 2014, Russian channel NTV released a film Военкор ('War Correspondent'), inspired by Phillips' early experiences reporting in Ukraine.[42] In March 2015, after having covered the Battle of Debaltseve, Phillips returned home to the UK, where he was detained at Heathrow Airport and questioned by MI5 about his work from Donbas. No charges were presented against Phillips, who was released after several hours of questioning.[43]
In early 2015, Phillips was added to the Ukrainian Myrotvorets site, which lists so-called 'enemies of Ukraine', and encourages action against them.[44] [45] Back in the UK in Spring 2015, Phillips organised a fundraising event to raise humanitarian aid for Donbass. The Daily Beast accused Phillips of fighting with a heckler in crowd who had shouted that Givi was a 'murderer'. Phillips confronted the man, and ejected him from the venue with force, telling the Daily Beast: "I shoved him. If he'd hit me, I would definitely have put one on his chin." Responding to criticism of his Donbass charity event blurring journalistic lines, Phillips responded "I think within the scope of journalist you can do some good."[17] Phillips at this time declared that his future would be as a 'completely crowdfunded, independent journalist', doing reportage only for his YouTube channel going forward.[46] Also in April 2015, Phillips attempted to storm into the Museum of Stepan Bandera in London, shouting that it was a 'Nazi collaborator museum'. He was escorted from the premises by the police.[47] Later in 2015 Phillips was back in Donbas, and Inverse published an article based on his work, namely his drone footage from the destroyed city of Pervomaisk in Donbas. Phillips stated that drone footage allowed people to witness war at a 'visceral' level, and that 'the destruction of Pervomaisk was a result of shelling by Ukrainian forces'.[48]
In March 2016, Phillips released a film called Aramis, about the life of a Donbas militant he had known, who was killed in action. The premiere was held in Saint Petersburg.[49] Phillips then made a film about celebrations of Victory Day in Russian-occupied Crimea.[50] On 16 March 2016, Phillips was detained in Riga, Latvia, for disrupting the Remembrance Day of the Latvian Legionnaires events, shouting that they were 'glorifying fascists', and resisting police orders, after which he was deported to Russia and banned from re-entering Latvia for three years.[51] Latvia’s Interior Minister, Rihards Kozlovskis blasted Phillips for his “provocation” in the Latvian capital.[52]
In June 2016, Phillips travelled around Europe, doing what he described as a 'Brexit reportage project'. He began in France, asking young men in the Calais Jungle, why they were planning to come to the UK. Phillips' confrontational tone, and questioning, resulted in an incident in the 'Jungle'.[53] Phillips then went to the Germany vs Ukraine football match at Euro 2016 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille, asking Ukrainian football supporters what they thought of the war in Donbas. Phillips' provocative questioning resulted in multiple confrontational incidents, and Phillips' Rover 75 was broken into, with personal items stolen.[54] Despite being banned from Latvia in March, Phillips then returned there in June, as part of his 'Brexit project'. Upon his return to Latvia, while banned, he referred to the Latvian government as 'morons'.[55] Phillips then returned to the United Kingdom, where he did interviews with people around the country about Brexit, and general videos on the theme.[56] On 2 August 2016, together with German journalist and activist Billy Six, he entered the Berlin office of the investigative journalism organisation Correctiv without permission and demanded an interview with Marcus Bensmann, who was investigating Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Phillips, who had been conducting his own investigation into MH17, repeatedly accused Bensmann of lying, shouting "Lying press!", while filming the incident, and refusing to leave. Correctiv called the police, however Phillips and Six evaded them.[57] [58]
In September 2016, Ukraine accused Phillips of provocation for his reportage from the Crimean border, where he crossed the line from Russian-controlled Crimea into Ukraine-controlled territory, telling the Ukrainian border guards that 'Crimea is Russia'.[59] Back in Donbas, in a 17 September 2016 video published by Phillips, he is seen shortly before a prisoner exchange having a verbal altercation with a disabled Ukrainian prisoner of war who had lost both of his arms and sight in a mine blast. The video caused outrage in Ukraine.[60] The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group called for journalist NGOs to condemn Phillips' actions.[61] Judith Gough, British Ambassador to Ukraine, said that she was appalled by the incident. The Ukrainian POW interviewed by Phillips, Vladimir Zhemchugov, for his part, criticised Phillips for 'doing three interviews' with him, and not publishing the one where he (Zhemchugov) 'got the better of Phillips' in their verbal spar.[62] After the Zhemchugov interview, Ukrainians organised a petition to then UK Prime Minister Theresa May to strip Phillips of his British passport, and ban him from leaving the UK; however, the UK replied that they had 'no grounds' to do this.[63] [64] [65]
Back in London, in January 2017, Phillips was thrown out of the UK Parliament at a 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the UK and Ukraine, for disruption. He had loudly asked why the United Kingdom was 'supporting Ukrainian shelling of civilian areas of Donbass'.[66] From mid-2017, Phillips was back reporting from Donbas. He released a film he made in tribute to a young Luhansk journalist he had known, Irina Gurtyak, who was killed in a car crash.[67] In late 2017, early 2018, Phillips went to breakaway Georgia South Ossetia to make a film.[68] Later in 2017, Phillips was accused by a Ukrainian prosecutor's office of taking an active role in the information and propaganda activities of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic. Phillips was alleged to have collaborated, and been friends, with separatist leaders Givi and Arsen Pavlov.[69] Phillips was known to be friends with Elizaveta Glinka, and released a film about her in 2017, following her death in December 2016.[70]
At the start of January 2018, Phillips released a film about the children's camp Artek in Crimea.[71] Later in January 2018, Phillips released a film, A Brit in Crimea, in which he took Scottish businessman Les Scott on holiday to the Russian-annexed Crimea. The premiere of the film was held in Moscow, it was then released on Phillips' YouTube channel.[72] Phillips was denied accreditation to film the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia by FIFA, and so covered the footballing event 'as an England football fan'.[73]
Back in London, in August 2018, Phillips gatecrashed an exhibition at the Embassy of Georgia, London by Gia Bugadze dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the Russo-Georgian War, and was arrested by police for disrupting the event, shouting that the exhibition was "propaganda" and that its attendants were "NATO zombies".[74] His actions were condemned by the Embassy of Ukraine, London who called on the Foreign & Commonwealth Office to investigate Phillips' "terrorist activity".[75] In early October 2018, Phillips disrupted a press conference with Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins, accusing him of being a 'NATO agent', and insulting him.[76]
Also in October 2018, Phillips released a documentary on his YouTube channel, accusing the Ukrainian nationalist politician Stepan Bandera of being a Nazi. He then travelled to Bandera's grave, in Munich, tearing down Ukrainian flags which had been placed there and placing a placard on the grave reading "Ukrainian Nazi Stepan Bandera is buried here". In response to Phillips' actions, Ukrainian nationalist MP Ihor Mosiychuk stated “This monster (Phillips) should live in constant fear, because if European law enforcement officers do not come after him, then Ukrainian nationalists will come after him.”[77] The incident was investigated by the Munich Police Department; however, no charges were presented against Phillips.[78] Further, in October 2018, in Vienna, Phillips was accused by the then Ukrainian ambassador to Austria Olexander Scherba of coming to his premises, calling him a 'fascist', and attempting to provoke him into a fight.[79]
In 2019, Phillips went to Kosovo,[80] and recorded videos in which he called the country a terrorist state, the Kosovo Liberation Army a "terrorist organization", and Ramush Haradinaj, Hashim Thaçi and other Kosovar leaders "war criminals and terrorists", sparking outrage in Kosovo.[1] Phillips received death threats for his comments and was banned from Kosovo for life.[81] Phillips then did video reports from Serbia, which were critical of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.[1] Also in 2019, Phillips was doing videos from the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.[82] In 2019 film Opolchenochka (Militia Girl), one of the characters, journalist Michael Felps, is based on Phillips.[83]
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 saw Phillips back in the UK, describing himself as 'sceptical' about the pandemic, and strongly opposed to compulsory lockdowns and vaccinations.[84] During the pandemic, from the UK, Phillips covered Black Lives Matter events in London, describing himself as an opponent to the movement.[3] In early 2021, Phillips released a documentary about the sinking of the MS Estonia, based around his interview with survivor Paul Barney.[85] Phillips then released a documentary about the Jasenovac concentration camp in Croatia.[86] Phillips stated that he had been unable to access Donbas in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions, however he returned to do a documentary from Donetsk in summer of 2021.[87] Later in 2021, Phillips travelled around Siberia doing videos, and documentaries.[88] [89]
Phillips was in the UK, at his home in London, when the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine began. He welcomed the invasion,[2] and celebrated Russia's recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, recording a video of himself in front of the Houses of Parliament where he stated his 'love for the Donbas republics and their people'.[2] In March 2022, Phillips crossed from Belarus into Russian-occupied Ukraine, despite his lifetime ban. In an interview at this time, Phillips dismissed support for Ukraine "virtue signalling" for a "fashionable cause" and likened it to the support for Black Lives Matter. Phillips remained reporting from the Chernihiv area of Ukraine in March, releasing several videos. At this time, Phillips was attracting negative attention from UK media for his work, and position.[4]
Phillips then left the Chernihiv area in early April, initially going to the city of Tyumen in Siberia, apparently to collect his car, and then driving the several thousand kilometres to Donbas, collecting humanitarian aid for Mariupol en route.[90] [91]
Phillips extensively covered the Battle for Azovstal from Mariupol. He also engaged in searching for people who had gone missing during war in Mariupol, locating and then evacuating relatives, including the brother of actress Darya Jurgens.[92] Phillips moved from Mariupol onto covering Donetsk. In June, while reporting from Donetsk under shelling, Phillips saved two women from under shelling.[93] During the September 2022 annexation referendums in Russian-occupied Ukraine, which were denounced by the UN General Assembly, he filmed himself at a polling station saying that the ballots were cast "in accordance with proper voting practice and procedure". He asked several "voters" to show their ballot paper on camera, all of which were cast in favour of joining Russia. Phillips spoke positively about the referendum, and endorsed its 'legitimacy'.[2] Phillips has carried out extensive humanitarian aid work in Donbas, including regular deliveries of humanitarian aid to a children's home in Lutuhyne.[94]
In October 2022, Phillips posted a video of himself wearing Russian military fatigues, bearing Russian insignia, firing a machine gun at a firing range near the frontline.[2] He also posted an image of himself standing in front of a Russian flag wearing combat uniform as well as camouflage taken from a Ukrainian soldier presumed to be dead.[2] Later, he shared a video of an unarmed Ukrainian soldier being summarily executed, describing him as a Nazi.[2]
Phillips has received repeated criticism for his interviews with Ukrainian POWs.[95] Phillips has not apologised for these interviews, stating that he has never "crossed a line", and that everything he does is "determined on the basis of journalistic merit".[2] On 18 April 2022, Phillips, in Donetsk, interviewed Aiden Aslin, a British citizen who had been captured by the Russian Armed Forces whilst serving in the Ukrainian military and fighting in Mariupol. Phillips uploaded video of the interview to his YouTube channel, in which Aslin could be seen in handcuffs.[96] Australian-British barrister Geoffrey Robertson said the interview could be a violation of international law, saying "coercive interrogation of prisoners of war for propaganda purposes is contrary to the Geneva Conventions", and said that Phillips may face a war crime prosecution as a result of the interview. As of 2024, Phillips has yet to face any charges in relation to his interview with Aslin, however in his January 2024 High Court ruling, Judge Johnson criticised Phillips both for conducting the interview, and expressing his willingness to do more interviews with POWs.[2] [97] Former British Cabinet minister Damian Green described him as the modern-day equivalent of World War II Nazi propagandist Lord Haw-Haw.[98] On 20 April, Phillips was criticised by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and by Member of Parliament Robert Jenrick in the House of Commons. Johnson accused Phillips of producing propaganda messages and Jenrick said "the interviewer Graham Phillips is in danger of prosecution for war crimes". On 23 April, YouTube announced that it had removed Phillips' interview of Aslin citing privacy violations, and demonetised his channel.[99]
For his part, Phillips has stated Aslin himself "requested the interview". "Let anyone serious present any real charges against me, and I'll fully answer all of them – I'm an independent journalist of complete integrity, and absolutely sound of conscience and ethics", he said.[7] After liberation as result of prisoner exchange, Aslin has spoken extensively about his interview with Phillips, in several interviews, and a book.[100] In an April 2023 interview, he described the behaviour of Phillips as "normal when off camera" but going "psychotic" when cameras were turned on.[101] In a May 2023 interview, Aslin denied he "requested" the interview with Phillips, and described both Phillips' questions and his answers as "scripted and rehearsed".[102] As of 2024, Phillips has not faced any charges in relation to the interview.
In March 2023, The Sun printed a correction to an earlier interview they had run which Aiden Aslin, which described Phillips as a 'war criminal' who had 'taunted British POWs' and was 'under police investigation'. The Sun
In July 2022, Phillips became the only British-born citizen to date to be sanctioned by his own country. Phillips responded: "I didn't have any opportunity to defend myself, no-one notified me, there are no real charges against me.”[13] Phillips said he would make an appeal against his sanctions, calling them “ridiculous, illegal and dangerous”.[104] [105] The sanctioning of Phillips attracted global media attention, and a generally mixed reaction from the international media.[106] According to a Foreign Office official, the sanctions are because he ‘has produced and published media content that supports and promotes actions and policies which destabilise Ukraine and undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty, or independence of Ukraine’.[107]
Phillips has been accused of being pro-Russian, working for the Russian state, and lending 'faux legitimacy' to Kremlin propaganda and Russian conspiracy theories with his 'middle-class English accent'.[108] [109] In August 2023, Phillips stated that he was taking the UK Government to the High Court to challenge his sanctions, and that in doing so he is "standing up for the rights of every British citizen... It may be the opinion of the UK government that my work 'destabilizes Ukraine', but that is not a crime. Furthermore, it is a subjective misrepresentation of my work...I am an independent British journalist doing my best, with soundness of mind and conscience, and clearness of purpose - that is to show the truth in everything I do."[110]
Phillips' case was first heard at the High Court in November, initially by Justice Swift, however following that hearing Justice Swift removed himself from duties, and Phillips' case was heard again in December 2023 by Justice Johnson. Phillips' lawyers argued that Phillips was being unfairly punished by 'Orwellian' sanctions without crime by the UK State, adding that sanctions were denying Phillips "priceless time" in the UK with his elderly parents, and daughter, and had caused him to receive multiple death threats. Yet Justice Johnson, in his January 2024 judgment ruling in favour of the UK Government against Phillips, stated that the sanctions on him were a "proportionate interference with Phillips's human rights" in the "legitimate aim of protecting the UK's national security". Justice Johnson noted that Phillips has mostly stayed in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine since 2022, and has been given access to the frontline by the Russian military.[10] [11] [2]
Writing in support of Phillips, and Julian Assange, in March 2024, British journalist Peter Hitchens described Phillips as a "prisoner of the (UK) state".[111]
In 2015, Phillips announced his support for the United Kingdom Independence Party.[46]
Phillips has often spoken of his love of British cars, including his Rover 75.[39] [46] [34] He has released videos and documentaries on the Longbridge plant in Birmingham.[112] In his judgment, Justice Johnson criticised Phillips for driving a Range Rover displaying the pro-Russian Z symbol, on the Donbas frontlines.[2]
In 2021, Phillips went on a hiking expedition to the location of the 1959 Dyatlov Pass incident, in the Ural Mountains of Russia. He spoke positively of the experience, and scenery, but stated he would not do reportage on the subject as his priority was his work from Donbas.[113]
Phillips has been awarded six medals for his journalistic work: