31 May 2018

Ukrainian police help stage murder of Russian journalist

From Morning Report, 7:17 am on 31 May 2018

He was reportedly shot twice in the back and reportedly he died in the ambulance on the way to hospital. But then he walked into a press conference about his death, fit and well. It turns out Arkady Babchenko, a dissident Russian journalist, faked his own death with the help of Ukrainian police. Mr Babchenko didn't even tell his wife about the plan to stage his murder. He apologised to her during the news conference a short time ago. The elaborate ruse was to flush out potential assassins in the wake of multiple death threats against Mr Babchenko's life. Euan MacDonald - editor of the Kyiv Post in Ukraine - talks through the details with Philippa Tolley.