Russia news: Journalist has colleagues in tears after he appears alive in Ukraine
Getty • Reuters Pictures emerged of Arkady Babchenko's coworkers in tears and celebrating his appearance
Pictures emerged of Arkady Babchenko's coworkers in tears and celebrating his appearance. One woman could be seen failing to contain her emotions as she clasped her hands together in disbelief. An image of Mr Babchenko can be seen in the background posted to a noticeboard in what was surely a memory to a colleague they thought had been assassinated. After appearing at a news conference in Ukraine, the 41-year-old immediately apologised for putting those closest to him through horrifying trauma.
He said: "I would like to apologise for what you have all had to go through. "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." The Russian Foreign Ministry immediately used the occasion as an opportunity to blast Ukraine’s “propaganda function” and insisted it was happy to see the journalist “alive after all”. It had previously been reported Mr Babchenko, a critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, had been shot in the back three times while returning home from purchasing bread.
A government official later claimed he had died in an ambulance on his way to hospital. But it appears this was simply a cover story to protect the journalist’s life after the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) detailed it had received information about a frightening plot to kill the Putin critic in addition to 29 other individuals. The SBU declared it had managed to prevent a sadistic plot to murder Mr Babchenko. Vasyl Hrytsak, the chief of the force, commented: "We managed not only to break this cynical provocation, but also to document the preparation of this shameful crime by Russian special services."
Getty The 41-year-old immediately apologised for putting those closest to him through horrifying trauma
General Prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko iterated the need to fake Mr Babchenko’s death in order to achieve his long-term safety. The SBU said it had detained a citizen in Ukraine recruited by Russia to find someone to kill the critic of the Kremlin leader. It added $40,000 (£30,000) was offered to organise the assassination with $30,000 (£22,000) going to the killer and the rest going to the intermediary.
Reuters An image of Mr Babchenko could be seen in the background posted to a noticeboard