Russian journalist and Putin critic who was ‘shot and killed’ in Ukraine turns up very much alive

Ryan Pickrell, DCNF

A Russian journalist who was “shot and killed” in Ukraine Tuesday turned up very much alive at a press conference Wednesday.

Ukrainian authorities reportedly faked his death in an effort to catch the murderers sent to kill him, Vasily Gritsak, head of the Ukrainian Security Service, introduced at the press briefing. The operation was apparently a success, according to Anton Gerashchenko, a Ukrainian politician with close ties to security services.

Arkady Babchenko, a Russian journalist and Kremlin critic, was gunned down in his apartment in Kiev, local police revealed Tuesday. His wife reportedly found him bleeding out at their home in the Ukrainian capital, and he died on the way to the hospital.

Both Ukraine and Russia publicly blamed the other for Babchenko’s untimely death.

“I’m sure that the Russian totalitarian machine did not forgive him his honesty and his fidelity to principle,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said on Facebook Wednesday, adding, “Best friend of Ukraine, who told the truth about Russian aggression to the world. The murderers must be punished!”

“We know that many people are dying, many journalists are dying, journalists are thrown into prison for doing journalist work. We consider this unacceptable, we believe that this should be the topic for a very tough international reaction that will encourage the Ukrainian authorities to take effective measures to rectify the situation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

Babchenko, a renowned reporter who fled Russia last year after receiving threats for his writings critical of the Russian government, is definitely not dead. At Wednesday’s press briefing, he thanked all of those who were mourning his passing.

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