Anti-Kremlin journalist Arkady Babchenko was discovered to be very much alive after people thought he was murdered on Tuesday; but, it turns out his death was part of a dramatic ruse to foil an assassination plot against him.
The moment Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, who had been reported dead yesterday, appeared at a press conferenc… https://t.co/iHb6Rc1NCY— BBC Breaking News (@BBC Breaking News) 1527692331.0
Babchenko, 41, is an outspoken critic of the Kremlin who shocked the media on Wednesday when he appeared at a press conference and elicited gasps and applause after he was reportedly shot to death on his porch in Kiev no less than 24 hours prior.
Vasyl Hrytsak, the head of Ukraine's security service, said the staged murder was arranged to preempt a plot by Russian Intelligence to kill the former war correspondent.
The alleged organizer of the assassination plot was arrested by Kiev police, and a full investigation is currently underway.
@BBCBreaking This nor reports of his death are “fake news” the media went with the info and evidence they were pres… https://t.co/HipW2W8qrD— Manxy (@Manxy) 1527693024.0
Babchenko was an unwilling participant in the operation staged by the Ukrainian Intelligence Service who had known about a contract on his head for two months. He was told he had no other choice but to participate.
I did my job. I'm still alive. I have buried many friends and colleagues many times and I know the sickening feeling. I am sorry you had to experience it. But there was no other way.
According to CNN, the Kremlin said they had nothing to do with the assassination plot against Babchenko and were wrongly accused by the Ukrainian prime minister and many others.
Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement deriding Ukraine for staging murders and not following up on real crimes, referring to the deaths of two Kiev journalists in 2015 and 2016.
Matters of life and death in Ukraine, as well as trust of the international community to its policy, are nothing more than a bargaining chip used to fuel the anti-Russian hysteria of the Kiev regime.
Might I remind you that Ukraine's prime minister accused the Kremlin of carrying out a targeted assassination of a… https://t.co/UtXI7gvCA5— max seddon (@max seddon) 1527692464.0
According to a BBC report, Hrytsak accused Russian security forces of recruiting a Ukrainian national for the assassination plot.
The citizen approached several acquaintances, including war veterans, offering $30,000 (£22,600) for the contract killing, one of whom revealed the plot to the security services.
It's unclear as to which of Babchenko's family members were made aware of the operation.
The New York Times said the journalist was evasive when asked about how much his wife Olechka knew about the fake death before she discovered him lying face down in a pool of blood and called for an ambulance, but Babchenko took the opportunity to apologize the next day at the press conference.
Olechka, I am terribly sorry, but there were no other options.
Turns out not even Babchenko's own wife - to say nothing of his six adopted children - knew about it. "Olechka, I a… https://t.co/1tNQTR5a6v— max seddon (@max seddon) 1527691405.0
"My job is done, I am not dead yet," Arkady Babchenko suddenly reappears in front of amazed journalists in Kiev. Mu… https://t.co/lvacnr23TF— Ivan Nechepurenko (@Ivan Nechepurenko) 1527690655.0
His colleagues rejoiced over the news he was alive.
Реакція журналістів ATR 😍 Відео - Kateryna Lisunova https://t.co/GmkBcXc157— Радіо Свобода (@Радіо Свобода) 1527693525.0
@radiosvoboda That's beautiful!!!— K. Robot (@K. Robot) 1527696228.0
@radiosvoboda I don 't know any of you, didn't really know who he was, but watching this reaction made me tear up..… https://t.co/QnHnxNaUri— No One is Above The Law (@No One is Above The Law) 1527700641.0
@radiosvoboda I am so relieved! Arkady and his family were on my mind all morning with a heavy heart. https://t.co/m9iFEhw4yk— SevilSevDiyar (@SevilSevDiyar) 1527701837.0