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https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6420248/k ... eath-plot/‘Kremlin assassin sent to kill’ journalist Arkady Babchenko arrested after Putin critic came back from the deadTHIS is the moment a suspect accused of ordering the assassination of back from the dead journalist Arkady Babchenko is arrested in the street.
Dramatic footage shows masked Ukrainian cops pin the man against a car bonnet before leading him away in handcuffs.
Ukrainian cops are seen reportedly arresting a man suspected of ordering Babchenko's murder on behalf of the Russian secret service
Babchenko, 41, stunned the world by faking his own assassination.
The Kremlin critic was reported to have been shot dead on Tuesday - and a picture showed him lying in a pool of blood.
But yesterday he emerged alive at a press conference as the Ukrainian secret service admitted to staging his death to fully investigate a Russian plot to kill him.
The arrest video reportedly shows undercover Ukrainian cops detain the man suspected of ordering Babchenko's murder on behalf of the Russian FSB secret service.
Masked cops lead the suspect away in handcuffs during the dramatic arrest in a Kiev street
AFP or licensors
Ukrainian authorities are today investigating claims a hitman was hired by the Russian secret service to murder Babchenko.
They claim an identikit drawing shows a striking similarity between the man who allegedly ordered the murder of the Moscow journalist and "Chechen hitman" Valid Lurakhmanov.
He is reported to have been in Ukraine and using false documents under the name Alexander Smirnov.
Police Chief Andrii Kryschenko refused to confirm whether Lurakhmanov is in custody as the video of an unnamed suspect was released.
He told reporters: "We will verify this information."
Meanwhile, Babchenko has vowed to live until he's 96 after "dancing on Vladimir Putin's grave".
The war reporter said: “They will never get me.
"(I will) die at 96 having danced on Putin’s grave."
The world thought Putin-critic Arkady Babchenko had been assassinated by Russian hitmen. The ruse was so secret not even his wife Olechka was in on it
Central European News
The world was shocked when Babchenko showed up to a press conference on Wednesday smiling
AFP or licensors
Babchenko was slammed by worried pals for duping them into the fake death plot.
In a Facebook message a furious friend wrote: "You're a b****** of a rare description, of course you almost gave your granny a heart attack, but f*** I'm glad that you're alive".
But the dissident Russian reporter told British media to go “f*** themselves” over criticism of the stunt.
He said: 'The British media is questioning whether there is really more harm than good that came from what I did? Dear British press, would you please go and f*** yourselves?
'If you want to do something useful however, you can give me a British passport and British protection. Then you will have the right to teach me how I should save myself and my family. F***ing smart-a***s!'Moscow claims the entire saga was a Kiev plot to embarrass Russia ahead of the World Cup which it hosts next month.
Kremlin supporters are using the stunt to challenge other assassinations, including the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal and the downing of MH317.
Both attacks have been blamed on Russia.
Moscow experts also warned that Ukraine has used its one and only opportunity to dodge an immediate threat.
Ukrainian authorities claim there is a striking likeness between the e-fit of the man allegedly ordered to murder the Moscow war correspondent and a notorious 'Chechen hitman'
East2west News
Ukrainian authorities claim there is a striking likeness between the e-fit of the man allegedly ordered to murder the Moscow war correspondent and a notorious 'Chechen hitman'
Video showing the colleagues of Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko celebrating after it's announced he is alive
Edward Lucas told BBC Newsnight: “I think the difficulty here is this is a card you can only really play once and I wonder what will happen next time there’s an assassination."
After announcing he was still alive Babchenko apologised to his wife "for the hell she had to go through in the past two days”.
But he claimed there was “no choice” if his would-be assassins from Russian were to be nailed.
He apologised to his grieving wife Olechka, who was not in on the ruse.
The faked assassination was based on a Sherlock Holmes plot, a Ukrainian MP claimed on Wednesday.
Putin-critic Babchenko was on Tuesday reported to have been gunned down in the Ukrainian capital Kiev — apparently the latest of a string of suspected Kremlin hits.
But Babchenko on Wednesday emerged at a press conference to reveal the killing had been staged to flush out a gunman plotting a genuine hit.
The journalist had to keep the ruse from his own family and later apologised
East2west News
She had found him face-down near their home covered in blood from what seemed to be three gunshot wounds to the back. She was later told he died in an ambulance.
MP Anton Gerashchenko, who was in on the ruse, said it was inspired by a Sherlock Holmes story in which the famous detective fakes his death to throw his enemies off his trail. Mr Gerashchenko said: “Sherlock Holmes successfully used the method of faking his own death so he could effectively investigate complex and intricate crimes.
“Even so, it was painful for his relatives and for Dr Watson.”
The were gasps of disbelief as Babchenko emerged at Wednesday’s press conference — just 24 hours after his death had been announced to the world along with grisly pictures of his apparently blood-covered body.
He tearfully said sorry to Olechka, saying: “I want to apologise to my wife for the hell that she has been through.
Babchenko reportedly failed to tell his wife Olga about his faked murder plot
East2west News
Babchenko reportedly failed to tell his wife Olga about his faked murder plot
It was revealed at the press conference that the killing was staged to catch a gunman who was plotting to actually kill Babchenko
Reuters
“Olechka, I am terribly sorry but there were no other options. I have buried many friends and colleagues and I know the sickening feeling.”
Babchenko said he had been working with the SBU after he was told a month ago about an alleged Russian plot to kill him.
He said: “They said that there is an order for you to be killed. They money had been transferred — $40,000 (£30,000).
“They showed my passport details, my documents, my photo, but it was a passport which was issued when I was 25, so it was clear the information had come from the Russian Federation.
“The information could only have come from Russian governmental services.
“I was invited to take part in this special operation. I agreed and for a month we were preparing this special operation.
“And the man was detained. He is already in custody, the crime has been proven and all the evidence is clear.”
Babchenko said he learned the Russian plotters were desperate to have him killed by a hired Ukrainian hitmen before last Saturday’s Champions League Final in Kiev. He said “They were given three weeks to complete the order.
Tributes had been laid to Babchenko on a Moscow pavement
EPA
'Assassinated' journalist Arkady Babchecko reveals death was faked to smoke out 'Russian-hired hitman'
“Then they started to hurry and rush them, apparently fitting to the Champions League final.”
Ukraine intelligence sources said the elaborate sting had been necessary to flush out all those involved in the plot — the hitman, the Ukrainian middleman who hired him and the Russian paymasters.
The country’s SBU security services had got wind of the planned hit and knew the identity of one of the two Ukrainians involved.
But they feared if they simply arrested him the rest of the trail would go cold.
But when news of the fake assassination was broadcast worldwide it triggered a series of messages and contacts between the genuine conspirators that the SBU monitored.
SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak said they now had evidence that Russian security services had recruited a Ukrainian citizen to source a hitman to take out Babchenko in Kiev. The plot had been initially uncovered when a Ukrainian war veteran was offered the job and alerted the SBU.
Police last night said both the would-be assassin and the middleman were in custody.
The block of apartments where Babchenko was 'killed'
Getty - Contributor
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said that investigators will “work to identify the person who ordered this crime which was planned but not carried out, thanks to the SBU.”
He added: “Yesterday, today, even as we speak, inquiries are underway to obtain more information about who ordered this murder.
“According to preliminary data, we have enough facts pointing towards Russia as the party that ordered the murder.”
The fake assassination, said to have occurred as Babchenko returned to his apartment after going out for bread, triggered worldwide anger and revulsion.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted after the news that the journalist 'had been killed'
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted: “Appalled to see another vocal Russian journalist, Arkady Babchenko, murdered.
"My thoughts are with his wife and daughter.
“We must defend freedom of speech.
"It is vital that those responsible are now held to account.”
While Ukraine knew Babchenko was still alive they accused Russia's 'totalitarian machine' of murder
AP:Associated Press
Babchenko’s family — unaware of the sting — paid tribute to his courageous anti-Kremlin stance.
The Ukrainian government, knowing he was still alive, accused Russia's “totalitarian machine” of murder.
Russia, blamed for the attempted murder of ex-double agent Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March, again denied any involvement.
After Wednesday’s ruse was revealed the Foreign Office declined to comment.
But one minister said: “It’s quite extraordinary.
Russia again denied any involvement
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"But there is nothing I wouldn’t believe any more.”
Others warned Russia will use the ruse to brand any future suspicious deaths of Putin enemies as fake news.
One Tory MP said: “I hope this doesn’t backfire.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry would only say it was “happy” to see Mr Babchenko was still alive.
How caper unfolded
MAY 29: 8.24pm News breaks in Ukraine media of Babchenko’s murder.
9.00pm Ukraine police release a photo drawing of a possible suspect and cops pictured outside Babchenko’s home.
11pm UK media reports death.
MAY 30 10.24am Ukraine PM Volodymyr Groysman blames Russia for the murder.
11am Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweets he is appalled.
11.05am Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejects Ukrainian allegations that Moscow was behind the killing of Babchenko, calling it part of an anti-Russia campaign.
12.23pm Ukraine Information Policy Ministry calls murder an “onslaught on truth”.
1.02pm Russia offers to help Ukraine track down killers.
1.50pm Council of Europe slams killing as a “serious violation of media freedom”.
15.25pm Babchenko appears alive and well at a press conference.
15.48pm Russia says happy to see him alive.
Babchenko revealed he was inspired to carry out the ruse after watching Sherlock. The Sherlock fake death plot was featured in the TV version of his exploits.In Season Two’s The Reichenbach Fall episode Sherlock, played by Benedict Cumberbatch appears to leap to his death from a London hospital roof.
He returned unharmed in Season Three.
British Putin critic Bill Browder was on Wednesday arrested in Spain on an international warrant issued by Russia, only to be freed when Interpol told Madrid to ignore it.
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