Thread: Anti-Kremlin Russian journalist's death in Ukraine was faked, used to thwart murder p

Anti-Kremlin Russian journalist's death in Ukraine was faked, used to thwart murder plot, officials say

By Travis Fedschun | Fox News
21 mins ago

Arkady Babchenko, who was reported to have been shot dead at his apartment, appeared very much alive at a news conference on Wednesday.

The fierce anti-Kremlin Russian journalist who was reported shot dead in Ukraine's capital showed up to a news conference on Wednesday very much alive, as authorities revealed it was all part of a foiled murder plot against him.

Vasily Gritsak, the head of the Ukrainian Security Service, said at a news conference the agency faked Arkady Babchenko's death to catch those who were trying to kill him.

Babchenko showed up at Gritsak's news conference on Wednesday and thanked everyone who was mourning his death.

The journalist was leaving his apartment on Tuesday to go out to buy bread when he was shot several times in the staircase of his building in Kiev, Ukrainian politician Anton Gerashchenko said in a Facebook post. His wife found him bleeding and called an ambulance, but he died on his way to the hospital.

Babchenko did not tell his wife that the murder had been staged, according to the BBC.

"Special apologies to my wife," he said Wednesday.

Kiev Police, who said he had multiple gunshot wounds in his back, had told the public they were working on the theory that he was killed because of his work, according to Sky News.

"The first and the most probable version is his professional activity," Kiev Police Chief Andriy Kryshchenko said Tuesday. Kryshchenko added that detectives had been unable to speak to his wife because she's in a state of shock

Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs even released a sketch of Babchenko's possible assassin, who was described as a man between 40 and 45 years old with a grey beard and wearing a hat.

Babchenko fled Russia last year, fearing for his life, and settled in Ukraine. He had served in the Russian army during the two wars in Chechnya in 1990s and became one of Russia's best-known war reporters.

Several Ukrainian politicians immediately blamed the Kremlin for the act.

"Putin's regime takes aim at those who cannot be broken or intimidated," Gerashchenko posted to Facebook.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said the "Russian totalitarian machine" had not forgiven Babchenko for his "honesty and principled stance," Sky News reported.

Russian officials immediately dismissed the claims as cynical as they demanded authorities ensure a "prompt investigation" of the murder.

"Reports from Kiev say a Russian citizen, journalist Arkady A. Babchenko was killed as a result of an armed assault in Kiev where he lived permanently," Russia's Foreign Ministry told the TASS News Agency. "We demand the Ukrainian authorities do everything in their power for an immediate investigation. Also, we hope the relevant international agencies and NGOs will take the investigation process under their control."

The Kremlin noted that Ukraine has become a "very dangerous place" for journalists, and criticized officials for failing to protect them.

"Bloody crimes and total impunity have turned into daily routine for the Kiev regime," the ministry told TASS.

Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, also Russian news agencies on Wednesday that Russia would be happy to help with the investigation if Ukrainian authorities requested it.

Another well-known reporter, Pavel Sheremet, was killed in a car bombing in central Kiev in July 2016, according to Sky News. The case remains unsolved but he was also critical of Russia, Ukraine and his native Belarus.

Fox News' Nicole Darrah and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/05...cials-say.html

I wonder how many of these "fake" murders of journalists to blame Putin for them have occurred over there?