Less than 24 hours after he ‘died’, Russian journo Arkady Babchenko appears at presser alive

Less than 24 hours after the news about the murder of a dissident Russian journalist in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, spread, it was revealed that Ukraine staged the murder episode on Tuesday to foil a Russian assassination plot.

The 'murder' of Arkady Babchenko, a 41-year-old prominent journalist who is known to be a vocal critic of the Kremlin, was learnt to be fake as the man arrived at a press conference on Wednesday, May 30.

He was reported to have died after being shot several times on his back. But Ukrainian security chief Vasyl Hrystak said it was part of a sting operation to nab the criminals paid by Russia.

Moscow, however, was not impressed by the event and said it was done to provoke anti-Russia sentiments.

One arrest was made by the Ukrainian lawkeepers, it was said.

Babchenko, who left Russia in 2017 after facing death threats and moved to Kiev after a stay in Prague, was reportedly found in a pool of blood at the entrance of their apartment by her wife on Tuesday and he 'died' in an ambulance while being taken to hospital.

As the world moaned the death of yet another journalist in Europe, things took a pleasant twist the next day when Babchenko appeared at a press conference amid applause. Babchenko, a strong critic of Russia's action in Syria, thanked Ukraine for saving him.

Babchanko later tweeted that he would die at 96 after dancing on Russian President Vladimir Putin's grave, a BBC report said.