Ukraine criticised for faking scribe's death

Ukraine's security service officers arrest the alleged mastermind of a Russian plot to kill Arkady Babchenko. Pics/AFP

Ukraine was under fire after it admitted staging the murder of anti-Kremlin journalist Arkady Babchenko, despite relief in Russia and Ukraine that he was alive.

Babchenko made a shock reappearance at a press conference in Kiev on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after the Ukrainian authorities reported he had been shot dead at his home in a contract-style killing blamed on Russia.

Ukraine's security services said his death was faked to foil an assassination plot by Moscow, but Russian officials reacted with anger to what they branded an "anti-Russian provocation".

"There can be no grounds for faking a journalist's death," the head of Reporters Without Borders Christophe Deloire said, describing it as a "pathetic stunt". However, Babchenko dismissed the criticism.

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