Exiled Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko who was reportedly shot dead in his back in Kyiv yesterday evening
has shown up safe and sound at a briefing of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) today on 30 May.
SBU Head Vasyl Hrytsak told journalists that the special service faked the death of Babchenko to
catch those who had plotted his assassination.
Journalists and police congregated near the Babchenko’s house. Kyiv, 29 May evening. Image: Facebook/mixailotkach
“I could have offered my condolences to the family of Arkadiy Babchenko, but I won’t do that. On the contrary, I will greet Arkady with this third birthday and invite him to the room,” said Hrytsak at a briefing which was to be dedicated to the finding the culprits of the “murder” of Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko. News about the crime spread like wildfire yesterday evening.
Babchenko’s “second” birthday was detailed in a Facebook post which was yesterday considered to be his last: when he worked as a war correspondent in eastern Ukraine in 2014, he was not allowed to travel in an overloaded helicopter. The chopper was shot down hours after taking off.
At the briefing, Mr. Babchenko thanked everyone who was mourning his death, thanked the SBU for saving his life, and begged his wife’s pardon. The operation took two months to prepare and it was secret even for her.
“My life was saved, but what is more important, more serious terrorist acts were prevented,” he said.
According to Babchenko, the masterminds of the murder had his passport photo which could have been taken only at the Russian passport service. The Putin critic who fled Russia to Ukraine after the start of a vicious repression campaign in 2017 said he considers this to be evidence of the involvement of Russian state organs in the preparation of the murder plot.
He noted that the crime was prepared to take place during the Champions League Final which took place on 26 May in Kyiv. Babchenko said he attempted to stonewall the attempted murder by pretending to break his leg or travel somewhere.
According to Hrytsak, SBU has detained a “Ukrainian citizen H.” recruited for the assassination by the Russian special services. “He was detained just three hours ago,” said the SBU head. Hrytsak noted that the murder of Babchenko was only part of a plan to destroy some 30 Russian citizens who left Russia under pressure from Putin’s regime. Some of their names are known to the SBU, but will not be publicized for safety reasons.
Hrytsak detailed that “Citizen H” had offered his acquaintance, a Donbas war veteran, to carry out the assassination for $30,000. A deposit of $15,000 was paid to the veteran beforehand. “Citizen H” received $10,000 from the Russian side, Hrytsak told. At the briefing, Prosecutor General Lutsenko said that the veteran had cooperated with the SBU.
Apparently, “Citizen H” was to escape from Ukraine after the murder, which Lutsenko termed an “operative combination,” was carried out, but was detained by the SBU. Apparently, both the assassin-to-be and the suspected organizer, “Citizen H,” are under custody.
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