By all accounts, this looks like another elaborate psy-op designed to reinforce US-led narrative that Moscow murders journalists.
On Tuesday, the western corporate media went into overdrive when reporting on the alleged ‘murder’ of the “anti-Putin Russian journalist,” Arkady Babchenko, claiming that Moscow was behind the murder.
Today, Sergey Gritsak, head of the SBU, Ukraine’s state security agency, revealed that Babchenko was indeed alive and well, and that the whole murder story was merely ‘a ruse’ designed to prevent a ‘$30,000 planned contract hit’ on the journalist. All this is alleged based on secret information that the SBU claim to have received about an assassination attempt on Babchenko. Naturally, the Ukrainian officials claim that their elaborate hoax had somehow derailed the nefarious plot.
The hoax was even promoted by the US State Dept in Kiev:
Ukraine even lied to US State Department.
"Thanks for the Javelins and all the aid money, suckas!" pic.twitter.com/civn37Mtb6— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) May 30, 2018
Other critics are also accusing mainstream western media and Ukrainian news outlets of obfuscating the real scandal of numerous actual dead journalists in Ukraine since the US-backed coup d’etat in February 2014.
I can't stop thinking of 11+ journalists actually killed in #Ukraine since the West-backed #Maidan Putsch. All of them critical of resulting new regime. Remember the collective display of trauma by Western journalists over killing of Buzina, Rocchelli & Stenin? Yeah, neither do I https://t.co/KosMA3JL8P
— Mark Sleboda (@MarkSleboda1) May 30, 2018
Today offered yet another reminder that in politics/geopolitics ALL official statements should be treated as simulacrum and taken at face value.
— Ollie Richardson (@O_Rich_) May 30, 2018
“I want to congratulate his family, all of us and the entire world, which is watching it, and congratulate Babchenko with a third birthday,” Gritsak wrote on his Facebook page, referring to the term, ‘Third Birthday’, referenced previously by Babchenko years ago.
The change of Babchenko’s status from murder victim to SBU agent didn’t stop Kiev from still accusing Moscow of planning to kill the journalist. Of course SBU head Gritsak insists that the alleged hit on Babchenko was ordered by the Kremlin.
Incredibly, Babchenko is now claiming that the Ukraine staging of his death was part of a wider SBU operation to prevent “massive terrorist attacks” in Ukraine.
“As far as I know, this operation was in the pipeline for two months. I was let in the loop a month ago. Over this month I say the guys worked really hard. They were constantly in contact with me. We deliberated, thought things out, acted. And this covert action was the result,” said Babchenko at the press conference.
Babchenko is best known for his war coverage, and for his previous military experience fighting with the Russian Army in Chechnya.
Some mainstream media outlets are busy scrubbing their previous anti-Russian tweets associated with the fake story in order to avoid embarrassment and criticism:
The Independent reports on this latest Ukrainian and western mainstream media hoax…
Russian dissident journalist Arkady Babchenko, who was reported killed in Ukraine, has shown up alive at a news conference about his own death.
Vasily Gritsak, head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), told reporters the agency faked Mr Babchenko’s death to catch those who are trying to kill him.
According to Anton Gerashchenko, a Ukrainian MP with close links to the police and security services, the “brilliant special operation” was a success and led to “the killer” and the “organiser of the murder” being detained.
Kiev and national police had said Mr Babchenko, a strong critic of the Kremlin, was shot multiple times in the back at his apartment building and was found in a pool of blood by his wife.
Mr Babchenko showed up at the news conference on Wednesday and thanked everyone who was mourning his death. With tears in his eyes, the journalist said he had “done his work, and was still alive”.
“To friends and family, apologies for putting you through this,” he said. “I’ve buried my friends… I know the feeling of revulsion. Apologies to my wife. Olga dear, sorry. There was no other way.”
Mr Babchenko thanked the SBU and said the operation lasted two months. “The most important is that they saved my life and stopped a bigger terrorist attack,” he added, without elaborating.
The SBU said it had received information about the plot and had managed to prevent it.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it was happy Mr Babchenko was still alive, but accused Ukraine of using his story as propaganda…
Continue this article at The Independent
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