Ukraine on Thursday defended the action of its state security services in faking the death of a Russian dissident journalist after international criticism, saying the bizarre ruse had been essential for protecting him.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
Reuters: Ukraine defends ruse faking journalist’s murder, others criticize alarmist stunt
Ukrainian National guard servicemen stand in front of Russian embassy in Kyiv, on May 30, where portraits of journalist Arkadi Babchenko have been hung by activists to the fence one day after he was alleged to have been shot in his apartment building in the Ukrainian capital.
Ukraine was under fire on May 31, 2018 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.
