Ukraine stages murder of Russian journalist to prevent his real assassination: official

Ukrainian authorities have staged the murder of well-known Russian journalist and writer Arkady Babchenko to prevent his real assassination, Vasyl Hrytsak, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Wednesday. 

Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko speaks to the media during a news conference at the Ukrainian Security Service on Wednesday, May 30, 2018. [Photo: AP]

While speaking at a media briefing in Kiev, Hrytsak said that the special operation was aimed at detaining the person, who allegedly plotted the attacks against Babchenko and other people. 

"The organizer of the crime talked about the need to eliminate 30 people in Ukraine... We know the names of several other potential victims," Hrytsak said. 

The suspect in plotting the attacks has been detained, Hrytsak said. 

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian authorities reported that Babchenko, a journalist with the Ukrainian TV channel ATR, was shot in his apartment building and died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Babchenko showed up alive during the SBU's press conference in Kiev, which was streamed live on several Ukrainian TV channels. 

Babchenko, 41, had worked as a war correspondent in Moskovsky Komsomolets and several other Moscow-based media.

He moved from Moscow to Prague, capital of Czech Republic, in February 2017, citing unspecified threats. In August 2017, Babchenko moved to Kiev.

Babchenko is known as the author of several books on military themes, which have been translated into 16 languages.