Ukrainian Journalist Does News Conference After Being Reported Dead

On Wednesday, Arkady Babchenko—a Russian journalist and critic of the Kremlin who had reportedly been shot to death—appeared alive in a news conference. He stated that his death had been staged by Ukrainian security service officials with the purpose of preventing a real assassination plotted towards him.

His wife was reported to have found him bleeding to death in their apartment, on Tuesday. Officials who “investigated the events” gave a controversial explanation for them, stating that it was a Russian plot against the journalist. According to a spokeswoman for the Ukraine Prosecutor General, two people had been detained with relation to the “murder.”

Once the lie was dismantled, the press had several questions, which unfortunately, were not answered during Babchenko’s press conference. Instead, he focused on explaining how the ploy had been pulled off. He said he was notified of a plot for his murder a month ago by Ukrainian officials, who proposed to him the creation for a plan to prevent it. The man had been notified that the Russian special services had obtained access to his passport and documents.

It has also been reported that the Kremlin had recruited a Ukrainian man, identified as “G,” to find and kill Babchenko. According to the Security Service of Ukraine, “G” had received substantial information regarding the journalist, including the names of his wife, children and parents, his bank account details and phone number. The unidentified man is facing investigation, since he has been charged with aiding the commitment of a terrorist act and endangerment of a person to violate public safety.

Babchenko used the press conference as an opportunity to apologize to his wife and the people who thought he was dead. He said: “I would like to apologize for what you all had to go through … because I’ve buried friends and colleagues many times, and I know it’s a sickening-vomiting feeling when you have to bury your colleagues. Also I would like to apologize to my wife for the hell she went through in those two days. Olechka, I’m sorry, but there were no options here, either.”

A day before Babchenko’s return, Ukrainian authorities stated that they were searching for the killer and even released a fake sketch of the man, also reporting that the journalist was shot in the back and died in an ambulance. After it was notified that his death had been staged, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko congratulated the security services for saving the journalist’s life and for becoming more effective in counteracting to Russian aggression. He also shared footage of the encounter on Twitter and described Russia’s plot to kill Babchenko as a an attempt to destabilize Ukraine’s current situation.

These events have raised the already-existing tension between Ukraine and Russia. Russia’s foreign ministry has called the operation “obviously calculated propaganda,” saying: “We state that the questions of life and death in Ukraine, as well as the international community’s confidence in Ukraine’s policy, are nothing more than bargaining chips for the anti-Russian hysteria of the Kiev regime.” Russian officials have stated that this procedure will hurt Ukraine’s international image and reputation, one of them saying that Kiev is now “disgraced in the eyes of the whole world.”

Hours after the journalist’s faked death, Moscow and Kiev proceeded to blame each other’s nations for his killing. While Ukrainian officials stated their belief that the Russian government had orchestrated his “death,” the Kremlin argued that Ukraine is not a safe place to work in as a journalist anymore.

Featured Image via: Wikimedia Commons