Arkady Babchenko has spoken at a televised press conference in which he apologized to friends and loved ones and thanked Ukraine’s security services for saving his life. His death may have been faked intentionally.Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, whose reported death was international news on Tuesday night, has appeared at a televised press conference.
The journalist thanked Ukraine’s security services for saving his life, purportedly by faking his death in order to foil a genuine assassination attempt.
The journalist spoke at a televised press conference in which he apologized to friends and loved ones and thanked Ukraine’s security services for saving his life. Vasily Gritsak, the head of Ukraine’s security service, told reporters that the operation had been planned for two months.
During the press conference, reporters were told that the staging of Babchenko’s death had been coordinated by the journalist and Ukrainian police following serious death threats against him. Police officials said the operation was carried out in an attempt to lure out those behind the threats. They said that one arrest had been made so far.
Babchenko himself apologized for the pain the news of his death had caused, telling those present: “I have been forced to bury my friends and colleagues many times and I know the sickening feeling.” His family was not informed of the plan either, leading him to add: “Special apologies to my wife, Olechka, there was no other option.”
More to follow…
js/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)
