‘Murdered’ Kremlin critic journalist turns up alive at briefing
KIEV/MOSCOW: A dissident Russian journalist reported murdered in Kiev on Wednesday dramatically reappeared alive yesterday during a televised briefing by Ukrainian state security about the killing, which they then said they had faked.
Authorities initially said Arkady Babchenko was shot dead at his flat and found by his wife in a pool of blood.
But he took the podium and said he had been part of a Ukrainian operation to thwart a Russian attempt on his life and expose those behind it.
‘‘I would like to apologise for what you have all had to go through,’’ said Babchenko, who looked on the verge of tears. ‘‘I’m sorry but there was no other way of doing it. Separately, I want to apologise to my wife for the hell that she has been through.’’
His reappearance elicited gasps, then cheers and applause from journalists at the briefing.
Babchenko (41) is a critic of President Vladimir Putin and Russian policy in Ukraine and Syria.
His reported murder sparked a war of words between Ukraine and Russia. The two countries have been at odds since a popular revolt in Ukraine in 2014.
It also produced condemnations from European capitals and Washington, and sent shivers through journalistic communities in both countries.
Several Russian journalists critical of Putin’s policies have been murdered in recent years.
But there were signs of a backlash against Ukraine. Some said it had handed the Kremlin a propaganda gift.
Babchenko praised the operation, however, and thanked the Ukrainian Security Service, the SBU, for saving his life. He said the most important thing was that other big acts of terror had been thwarted.
The SBU said it received information about a plot to kill 30 people in Ukraine, including Babchenko, but had thwarted it.
The SBU declined to say who the other 29 people were but 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, the SBU said.
The detained man had been ordered to buy weapons and explosives which were to be stashed in Ukraine, it added.
‘‘We managed . . . to document the preparation of this shameful crime by Russian special services,’’ SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak said.
General prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko said it had been necessary to fake the journalist’s death so organisers of the plot to kill him would believe they had succeeded. —
Reuters