Ukraine faked death of Russian journalist

Ukrainian officials admitted Wednesday to faking the death of a prominent Russian journalist in a bid to catch people reportedly trying to kill him. Arkady Babchenko appeared with officials at a news conference and thanked those mourning his staged demise. Officials on Tuesday said Babchenko’s wife found him bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds in the back at their home in the capital city of Kiev. They also claimed he died on the way to the hospital. The 41-year-old journalist has repeatedly criticized the Kremlin’s policies, including its support for separatist insurgents in eastern Ukraine and the Russian campaign in Syria. Babchenko, a veteran Russian war correspondent, left Russia in February 2017, saying it was “a country I no longer feel safe in.” Prior to Babchenko’s sudden appearance at Tuesday’s news conference, Kiev Police Chief Andriy Krischenko said the journalist’s “professional activities” offered the most obvious explanation for his murder, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed claims Russia orchestrated the reported killing, calling the accusation an “anti-Russian smear.”