Putin critic turns up on TV after ‘murder’
KIEV/MOSCOW: A dissident Russian journalist who was reported murdered in Kiev dramatically appeared on Wednesday in the middle of a televised briefing about his own “killing” by the Ukrainian state security service.
Ukrainian authorities had said on Tuesday that Arkady Babchenko, a critic of President Vladimir Putin and Russian policy in Ukraine and Syria, had been shot dead at his flat and that his wife had found him in a pool of blood.
His “murder” touched off a war of words between Ukraine and Russia, condemnations from European capitals and Washington, and sent shivers through journalists in both countries.
But on Wednesday, Babchenko appeared before reporters, saying he had been part of a special Ukrainian operation to thwart a Russian attempt on his life, and that he was fine.
“I would like to apologise for what you have all had to go through,” he told reporters.
Babchenko’s reappearance elicited gasps, then cheers and applause from journalists at the briefing.
He went on to thank the Ukrainian Security Service, the SBU, for saving his life.
The SBU said it had received information about a plot to kill 30 people in Ukraine, including Babchenko, but had managed to prevent it.
It said it had detained a Ukrainian citizen recruited by Russia to find someone to kill Babchenko. He was given $40,000 to organise the murder, $30,000 for the killer and $10,000 for being an intermediary, it said. AGENCIES