#anton geraschenko

[gurutrends]

Neither Harris nor Trump, the Kremlin votes for chaos

According to Anton Geraschenko, an adviser on Ukraine, one might think that the Russian media and the Kremlin’s main spokesmen completely ignored the American election. Other topics largely dominated the internal information space. But this is clearly not true. Anton Geraschenko is an official adviser and former deputy minister of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry. He’s a former member of the…

[kragnir]

I’m sure that a number of other officers were also roasted in this attack – colonels, lieutenant colonels, majors, captains, lieutenants and no doubt also numerous important documents and communication gear. This was a most successful attack. Well done AFU, well done Storm Shadow!

[dragoni]

Trump’s hero, Putin, has his own way of suppressing dissent and those getting too close.

Arkady Babchenko, a Russian journalist critical of the Kremlin, has been killed in Kiev.

Mr Babchenko was shot at his home on Tuesday evening and died in an ambulance on the way to hospital. According to Anton Geraschenko, a Ukrainian politician with close links to the police and security services, the journalist had left his apartment to buy provisions, and was attacked on his return.

"When Arkady opened the door of his flat, the killer cowardly shot him in the back, firing several shots," he wrote on Facebook.

It was understood that his critical reporting of the wars in Ukraine and Syria had contributed to the elevated sense of danger. Russian state TV had been particularly forthright in criticising a blog post in which he expressed “indifference” for the deaths of “Russian military representatives” aboard an aircraft bound for Syria that crashed near Sochi.

Mr Babchenko’s death is the latest in a series of high-profile murders in Kiev. The 2016 assassination of investigative journalist Pavlo Sheremet remains unsolved, with no arrests or convincing investigation made. A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists criticised the Ukrainian authorities' "pushing [a] Russian narrative" in the case, despite "circumstantial evidence" suggesting a Ukrainian trace.

[mariacallous]

For some it was a rude awakening. Those arriving into Kyiv’s busy central station on Monday morning suddenly found themselves in the middle of an unexpected and unwanted drone war; hammered by the sounds of panicked last-ditch gunfire from the ground that failed to stop five terrifying explosions in two hours.

It was the second Monday in a row the centre of Kyiv had been targeted, and the first time the capital had been hit by Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones. The Russians had been aiming for a power plant a block from the station, but instead hit buildings and people elsewhere. Five died, including a pregnant woman, when a civilian apartment building was hit.

By Thursday, Russian strikes against power stations elsewhere around Ukraine had prompted warnings of daily power cuts. People were told to reduce the use of non-essential appliances, many street lights were turned off; air raid sirens, previously ignored, prompted people to shelter indoors. In Kyiv, the home front is back.

“If beforehand we thought that we will be able to handle winter, and it will be just like a little bit cold and dark right now, we know that it will be very cold and very dark,” said Kira Rudik, a Ukrainian MP and the leader of the liberal Golos party, speaking from a home powered by a generator in the district where the drones struck.

After the Russians retreated at the end of March, Kyiv enjoyed a relatively peaceful spring and summer, last targeted by Russian missiles in June in relatively isolated attacks. But now, on two successive Mondays, the capital has been bombarded, first with missiles and then the crash-landing Shahed drones, and the mood has shifted just as the weather turned cold and wet.

That is not to say the defiance of Ukrainians in the face of Russian aggression has altered. The city remains busy, even if many shops and restaurants were closed on Monday after the drones hit. Three branches of McDonald’s reopened in Kyiv last month, and a couple of dozen people were queuing for a fast-food fix on Thursday lunchtime.

“Of course I’m worried, but you can’t be tense all the time,” Irina, 27, said as she waited in line, pointing out that any troubles she faced were modest compared with those of her boyfriend, who is serving in the army. “I believe in the army right now, I believe we can win,” she added, in a familiar patriotic refrain.

People talk of making preparations, although because power cuts and cold weather have yet to fully bite, there is an air of unreality to the situation for some.

Valeria, 30, waiting to buy some fries, said: “I haven’t done anything, but I have friends who have been buying candles. People with houses are looking for generators.” Then she reasons: “Yes, we are scared, but we are more scared to be occupied by the Russians.”

There is still, however, a greater nervousness, even an occasional checking of the sky for possible drones. A calmer Tuesday was followed by a more edgy Wednesday, when several cruise missiles were shot down in the Kyiv district. People in the street, without a mobile phone to hand, asked whether the all-clear signal had been given on the widely used Kyiv digital app.

Elsewhere, though, and particularly in political circles, there is frustration and anger. Over the past six weeks, Ukraine has taken the initiative on the battlefield, pushing the Russians back, first in the north, then the south of the country. But coal and oil power stations, the principal targets of the Russian strikes, appear unsecured and vulnerable.

Some blame the west. Anton Geraschenko, an adviser to the interior minister, said: “Because our allies didn’t provide us with air defence systems on time, we found ourselves in the situation where we could potentially lose our energy system within weeks It may sound alarmist, but feelings are running high after Ukraine admitted losing 30% of its generating capacity in 11 days as a result of about 300 Russian attacks.

Geraschenko wants the west to provide more air defence systems, and fast, complaining that the US “does not want to discuss supplying us with Patriot [missile defence] systems”; that the eight Nasams air defence batteries promised by the US will only cover Kyiv; and that the UK has not supplied anything similar (although it has offered missiles for the Nasams) even though “Russia is not going to attack England”.

The attacks on power networks in Kyiv and elsewhere at this time of year were predictable, Geraschenko said, arguing that the Kremlin’s use of the attack on the Crimean bridge a fortnight ago was simply a pretext. “That was just the official reason. These attacks on energy objects in Ukraine have been prepared for a long time ahead,” he said, adding to a sense of frustration about the events of the last fortnight.

Rudik, an opposition politician, echoes the complaints, contrasting the mood of the summer with now: “Before, it was scary but still comfortable because the weather was not that bad, and plus you have electricity, internet, you have water. So you had the basic things to support yourself and just to feel OK.” Now, she says, the drone attacks have made the city centre more dangerous than the first phase of the war.

Like so many Ukrainians, she stresses that they have learned resilience from the Soviet, and particularly the early post-Soviet, era. “We’ve had all of that: water supplies for two hours a day, electricity for five hours a day, and it’s unpleasant but it’s still not killing you, right?” But she believes that the prospective energy crisis could have been dealt with better: “The west is always reactive.”

[korrektheiten]

Ukrainische Kriegsverbrecher: “Wir erschießen sie wie Schweine”

PI schreibt: »Während sich der Westen in Jubelmeldungen über kleine Gebietsgewinne der ukrainischen Streitkräfte ergeht, rächen sich die Häscher des Selenski-Regimes beinhart an der Zivilbevölkerung. All jene, die sie in den eroberten Orten verdächtigen, mit den Russen zusammengearbeitet zu haben, werden abgeknallt. Das verlautbarte nicht etwa ein Freischärler des berüchtigten, radikalen “Asow”-Bataillons, sondern mit Anton Geraschenko ein […] http://dlvr.it/SZkBGK «

[canalalentejo]

Gasprom divulga vídeo ameaçador : Uma Europa congelada sem o gás russo

Gasprom divulga vídeo ameaçador : Uma Europa congelada sem o gás russo

Com a descrição “o Inverno será longo, a Gazprom divulgou um vídeo nas redes sociais, onde mostra, de acordo com a sua perspetiva aquilo que poderá ser o futuro da Europa sem o gás da Rússia. O vídeo foi partilhado no Twitter por Anton Geraschenko, um conselheiro do governo ucraniano, “Eles acham mesmo que podem matar milhares de ucranianos, capturar territórios de outro país e a Europa vai…

[dermontag]

Pentagon bestätigt Abschuss Kapitän der "Moskwa" ist laut Kiew tot 15.04.2022, 21:19 Uhr Der Kapitän des prestigeträchtigen russischen Kriegsschiffs "Moskwa" wird nach ukrainischen Angaben getötet. Der Kreuzer wird demnach von zwei "Neptun"-Raketen getroffen. Das US-Verteidigungsministerium bestätigt nun die Angaben. Derweil verstärkt Russland seine Angriffe. Der Kapitän des gesunkenen russischen Raketenkreuzers "Moskwa" ist nach Angaben Kiews tot. Das teilte Anton Geraschenko, ein Berater des ukrainischen Innenministeriums, mit. "Anton Kuprin, Kapitän 1. Ranges, Kommandant des Kreuzers 'Moskwa', starb bei einer Explosion und einem Brand an Bord des ehemaligen Flaggschiffs der russischen Schwarzmeerflotte", schrieb Geraschenko in seinem Telegramkanal. Der Staatliche Grenzdienst der Ukraine berichtete zudem, das russische Verteidigungsministerium habe den Tod Kuprins bestätigt. Auf der Website des Ministeriums sowie auf seinen Kanälen in sozialen Medien ließ sich allerdings keine Information über den Tod des Kapitäns finden. Die "Moskwa" war laut einem Sprecher der ukrainischen Armee am Donnerstag von Raketen vom Typ "Neptun" getroffen worden. Ein Vertreter des US-Verteidigungsministeriums, der anonym bleiben wollte, bestätigte dies. Offenbar habe es auf russischer Seite Opfer gegeben, allerdings sei deren Zahl unklar, hieß es zudem aus US-Regierungskreisen. Die russische Seite teilte lediglich mit, es sei Munition an Bord explodiert. Während die "Moskwa" dann in Richtung eines Hafens abgeschleppt worden sei, habe sie ihr "Gleichgewicht" verloren und sei bei starkem Seegang untergegangen. Waren die "Naturgewalten" auf der Seite der Ukraine? Wie eine Sprecherin der südlichen Streitkräfte der Ukraine mitteilte, hätten nach dem ukrainischen Angriff andere Schiffe versucht, der "Moskwa" zu helfen, "aber auch die Naturgewalten waren auf der Seite der Ukraine, denn der Sturm machte sowohl die Rettungsaktion als auch die Evakuierung der Besatzung unmöglich", sagte die Sprecherin. Dass das Schiff wegen eines Sturms gesunken ist, ist allerdings laut mehreren Wetterexperten unwahrscheinlich. Am Donnerstag herrschten etwa in Sewastopol, der zentralen Hafenstadt der Krim, Windgeschwindigkeiten von nur 7 bis 14 Kilometer pro Stunde vor. Zum Schicksal der Crew der "Moskwa" konnte die ukrainische Militärsprecherin keine genauen Angaben machen, da dazu "zuverlässige Informationen" fehlten. Das russische Verteidigungsministerium hatte am Donnerstag mitgeteilt, die Crew sei auf andere Schiffe der Schwarzmeerflotte gebracht worden. Das Ministerium konkretisierte jedoch nicht, ob sämtliche Besatzungsmitglieder gerettet werden konnten. Die "Moskwa"-Crew bestand aus mehr als 500 Mitgliedern. Moskau nimmt Rache Mehr zum Thema "Der Angriff auf den Kreuzer 'Moskwa' hat nicht nur das Schiff selbst getroffen, sondern auch die imperialen Ambitionen des Feindes", sagte die Sprecherin der ukrainischen Streitkräfte weiter. "Wir sind uns bewusst, dass die Angriffe gegen uns zunehmen werden und dass der Feind Rache nehmen wird. Wir verstehen das", fügte sie hinzu. In der Tat verstärkten die russischen Streitkräfte einen Tag nach dem Untergang des prestigeträchtigen Kriegsschiffs ihre Angriffe. Unter anderem wurden eine Werkstatt und ein Verwaltungsgebäude des Rüstungskomplexes Wisar nahe der Hauptstadt Kiew zerstört. In der Fabrik werden laut der Website des staatlichen Rüstungskonzerns Ukroboronprom "Neptun"-Raketen hergestellt, mit denen die ukrainischen Streitkräfte die "Moskwa" getroffen haben sollen.

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/belarus-protests-kolesnikova-resists-expulsion-on-ukraine-border/

Belarus protests: Kolesnikova 'resists expulsion' on Ukraine border

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image copyrightGetty Images

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image captionMaria Kolesnikova told BBC Russian last month that “to understand exactly what’s going on, you really have to be here”

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A day after a Belarus opposition leader was seen being bundled into a van by masked men, she has been involved in dramatic scenes at the border.

Belarus says Maria Kolesnikova was detained while trying to cross into Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday.

But Ukraine says Belarusian officials tried to expel her, amid reports that she tore up her passport to stop them.

She is one of three women who joined forces to challenge President Alexander Lukashenko in August’s election.

Mass protests erupted after election authorities awarded Mr Lukashenko victory amid allegations of vote-rigging. The main opposition figure, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, says she won 60-70% of the vote, where votes were properly counted.

The latest events on the border with Ukraine come after a fourth weekend of anti-government demonstrations. Authorities said more than 600 people were arrested on Sunday. <![CDATA[.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:linkcolor:#3F3F42;.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visitedcolor:#696969;.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visitedfont-weight:bolder;border-bottom:1px solid #BABABA;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:focus,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:focusborder-bottom-color:currentcolor;border-bottom-width:2px;color:#B80000;@supports (text-underline-offset:0.25em).css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visitedborder-bottom:none;-webkit-text-decoration:underline #BABABA;text-decoration:underline #BABABA;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-skip-ink:none;text-decoration-skip-ink:none;text-underline-offset:0.25em;.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:hover,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:link:focus,.css-yidnqd-InlineLink:visited:focus-webkit-text-decoration-color:currentcolor;text-decoration-color:currentcolor;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:2px;text-decoration-thickness:2px;color:#B80000;]]>

The EU has demanded the release of all political prisoners and says it is planning to impose sanctions.

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Mr Lukashenko, who has ruled his country since 1994, admitted on Tuesday that perhaps he had remained in power too long: “Yes, perhaps I’ve overstayed a bit, perhaps,” he told Russian reporters, before making clear he would not leave “just like that”.

image copyrightReuters

image captionThe Belarusian leader said if he stood down his supporters would be “slaughtered”

He has accused Western powers of interference and is expected to visit Moscow “in the coming days” amid claims by Lithuania that he is planning deeper integration with Russia.

In an address to a Council of Europe committee, Ms Tikhanovskaya warned that any treaty made by Mr Lukashenko’s “illegitimate regime” would not be upheld “by a democratically elected Belarus government”.

Maria Kolesnikova is a prominent ally of Ms Tikhanovskaya, who left for Lithuania after her detention by authorities.

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What’s happened to Ms Kolesnikova?

There are conflicting reports about what happened at around 05:00 (02:00 GMT) on Tuesday at a border crossing south of the city of Gomel.

According to Belarus officials, she was with two opposition colleagues, Anton Rodnenkov and Ivan Kravtsov, who were in a BMW car. At the crossing, the car “accelerated sharply”, and Ms Kolesnikova “found herself outside the vehicle”. The official said she was “pushed out of it” and it continued to move towards Ukraine. Mr Lukashenko told Russian reporters she had been held for “violating the rules on crossing the state border”.

But Ukraine and opposition activists have rejected Belarus’s version of events. Anton Geraschenko, Ukraine’s deputy internal affairs minister, described the two men’s departure as “forcible expulsion”.

“Maria Kolesnikova could not be expelled from Belarus, because this brave woman took action to prevent her movement across the border,” he wrote in a Facebook post. “She remained on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.”

She is then reported to have torn up her passport at the border so she could not enter Ukraine, according to Interfax-Ukraine news agency which cited “informed sources”.

On Monday, eyewitnesses saw masked men seize Ms Kolesnikova on the street in central Minsk and push her into a minibus.

The Co-ordination Council – a body set up by the opposition to oversee a transfer of power after the disputed election – later said it had no idea of her whereabouts.

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media captionWhat lies behind the Belarus protests?

What did Mr Lukashenko say?

In his interview with Russian media, the long-time Belarus leader said: “We are ready to reform the constitution; after that, I don’t rule out early presidential elections”, but he stressed it was not on the cards yet and that he had no intention of talking to the Co-ordination Council.

“I won’t leave just like that. I’ve been developing Belarus for a quarter of a century. I’m not going to simply throw all that away. What’s more, if I go, my supporters will be slaughtered,” he said, according to reporters who interviewed him.

Mr Lukashenko has twice appeared brandishing a gun during mass protests against his rule, and he said that was meant to show he had not fled. “But really, only I can protect Belarusians now,” he asserted.

What has happened to the three women in Belarus opposition?

Of the three women who joined forces in the election against the Belarus leader, only Maria Kolesnikova is still in the country.

She was initially the campaign manager for presidential candidate Viktor Barbaryko before his arrest in June, when she decided to work with Veronika Tsepkalo and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya,

Ms Tikhanovskaya only decided to run in the vote after her husband was arrested and barred from standing. She was forced to leave Belarus for Lithuania the day after the vote, after she was detained for several hours.

Ms Tsepkalo has travelled to Poland with her husband Valery and children. Mr Tsepkalo, the former ambassador to the US for Belarus, was also barred from standing against President Lukashenko.

Another female activist, Olga Kovalkova, announced on Saturday she had fled to Poland amid threats of imprisonment.

“I’m the only one of the three of us who is still here,” Ms Kolesnikova told BBC Russian in an interview last month. “To understand exactly what’s going on, you really have to be here.”

Ms Kolesnikova described the recent demonstrations as “not a struggle for power” but “a struggle for human dignity and self-respect”. She said she and her team had decided against using bodyguards.

“No number of guards would be of any use if a bus full of riot police stopped us,” she said. “We all know what a police state is capable of.”

media captionA 73-year-old great-grandmother has turned into an unlikely hero for demonstrators in Belarus

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Minsk

Belarus

Ukraine

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[narcisbolgor-blog]

Another Putin Critic Murdered in Ukraine? Nope. His Death Was a Sting That Caught Alleged Assassin

Editors Note: Arkady Babchenko, one of the bravest and most famous of Russias war reporters, is not dead, although Tuesday night the world, including his family and friends, believed that he was. Now we find out it was all part of a sting to capture those who really did want him dead.

On Wednesday Babchenko appeared alive and well at a press conference, saying that he had to fake his death as part of a Ukrainian Security Service counter-terror operation. A suspect reportedly is in custody.

This is not the first time secret services have pulled off such a sting to embarrass their enemies and capture conspirators. In 1984, for instance, the Egyptians faked the murder of a leading opponent of Libyan strongman Muammar Kaddafi. But in todays news environment, such a spectacular example of fake news risks discrediting those who pull it off as well as those who would commit the crime in the first place.

World News Editor Christopher Dickey

Anna Nemtsova, who wrote the original story reporting Babchenkos death, filed this update from Moscow:

No fake news ever shocked reporters working in Russia and Ukraine more than this story.

On Tuesday Ukrainian authorities convinced the world that the famous Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko was killed in Kiev. A photograph of Babchenko in a puddle of blood with three gunshot wounds on his back was released to the public. Ukrainian parliament member Anton Geraschenko told a detailed story about the murder on his Facebook page, giving details of the assassination. The Ukrainian police released a composite sketch of the supposed killer.

Thousands of Babchenkos fans and friends wept for hours. Respectful publications wrote tributes. Russian politicians blamed Kiev and Ukrainians blamed Moscow for ordering Babchenkos murder; the United Nations demanded an investigation.

But at the Wednesday press conference the Ukrainian Security Service, the SBU, broke a happy news: Babchenko was alive. According to Ukrainian officials, the sting was a top secret specialoperation conducted to find the real would-be killer.

When a live Babchenko appeared on TV screens on Wednesday afternoon, all of his colleagues at ATR, a Tatar TV channel in Kiev, began to scream in shock in the newsroom, they had no idea, Pavel Kanygin, Babchenkos friend, told The Daily Beast.

Kanygin, as well as several other friends flew to Kiev on Wednesday morning to help Babchenkos wife organize the funeral. There were too many real assassinations of Russian journalists and politicians criticising President Vladimir Putin to doubt Babchenkos murder story.

During the press briefing on Wednesday Babchenko appeared before his colleagues and said: The SBU operation, conducted in order to prevent large scale terrorist attacks, was prepared for two months.

Apparently a former Ukrainian volunteer soldier had received $15,000 to kill Babchenko. The head of SBU Vasily Gritsak told reporters that the detention of the assassin helped to prevent dozens of other contract killings in Ukraine, that the list of potential victims included at least 30 names.

In Russia, Babchenkos friends were crying and laughing, happy to hear the news. We have the entire newsroom at Echo of Moscow screaming too, some curse badly, Tanya Felgenhauer, deputy chief editor of Echo of Moscow told her friends.

Later, Babchenko wrote to a group of fellow journalists: My wife is not doing great. It is hard. But she says hi to all of you and thanks you for all the words of support and words of sympathy. This is important. Thank you, brothers. And I am sorry that I had to drag you through all this. But there was no way.

We had to get the bastard. And we got him.

This is what Babchenko and the SBU had everyone believing, as reported in a story published by The Daily Beast earlier on Wednesday:

... On Tuesday night, [Babchenko] was shot in the back on the doorstep of his Kiev apartment. His wife reportedly was in another room when she heard the shooting. He died on the way to the hospital.

Babchenko was 41 years old and leaves behind his 12-year-old daughter.

His murder is a terrorist attack on the entire journalistic community, on all of us who cover the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Babchenkos old friend and colleague at Novaya Gazeta, Pavel Kanygin, told The Daily Beast shortly after news broke of the assassination.

Hundreds of thousands read Babchenkos fearless, controversial stories about Russian politics, human rights violations, and the war in Ukraine, and Kanygin spoke bitterly of the impact on journalists and journalism this killing will have. The spin master behind the contract murder intends to tell us that no matter how sharp and well-reported our stories are, no matter how well we hide from their persecutions, they will come and get us.

Babchenko himself was the biggest optimist of all of us. In one of his posts written in April 2015 while covering the war in the eastern Ukraine region known as Donbas he said: I will survive all their fucking wars. I will survive Donbas. The third Chechen war. And all their new local wars that they have time to start in their agony. In the same post he calls all his readers to drink beer, Champagne, twerk, shake it. Life rules! You guys love, kiss, talk, argue, have fun, make jokes and maybe for such an occasion I will dig myself out and one more time hang out with you.

It escaped no ones notice that Babckenkos cowardly assassin shot him three times from behind, just the way the murderers of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov fired into his back in 2015. Babchenkos close friends among Moscow journalists suspected Russian authorities are behind what appeared to be a contract killing.

The Ukraine Interior Ministry released a composite sketch of a bearded man in his forties with a denim cap, but some journalists in Ukraine question its authenticity.

Two years ago Babchenko wrote a blog about another journalist assassinated in Kiev, Pavel Sheremet, who was a journalist many young reporters looked up to. I am tired of having funerals for my friends. Every time it is the same thing, this damned endless run of deaths, Babchenko said. Now Arkadys name joined the list of Vladimir Putins assassinated critics. And we mourn one more friend.

Since the early days of the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Babchenko had received constant threats on his life from Russian officials and pro-Russian rebels. Moscow-backed militants put his photograph on the wall of the occupied administration building in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk with a sign: A provocateur and enemy.

Last year Babchenko had to leave Russia. Some Moscow source who he trusted informed him that Russian authorities were planning to lock him, Babchenkos friend, the Prague-based photographer Petr Shelomovsky, told The Daily Beast. So last year he first moved to Prague and then to Kiev.

In March last year, shortly after the former Russian State Duma deputy Denis Voronenkov was gunned down in the center of Kiev, Babchenko told his friends that every year some famous Russian gets killed in Ukraine. He wondered who would be next.

Today we got the answer to that questionhe was right, famous Russian public figures are vulnerable in Ukraine, says Ilya Barabanov, a BBC reporter based in Moscow, and another of Babchenkos friends. Looks like the order to kill Arkady came from Moscow; in fact, he constantly received death threats, he was feeling concerned about his own and his familys security.

In 2002 and 2006 Babchenko published a series of stories and essays about the war in Chechnya; in the past few years he was running a blog called Journalism without Intermediaries. Tens of thousands read his posts.

All of us, journalists who covered Russian-Georgian war in 2008, admired Babchenkos reportages for Novaya Gazeta. He was wounded in that war, but that didnt stop him.

He had many enemies both in Russia and Ukraine; there is no doubt that he was killed for his articles, Tanya Lokshina, a Russia program director of Moscow Human Rights Watch told The Daily Beast.

To Babchenkos friends he will always be remembered as an honest, passionate storyteller, an easy-going colleague.

Every day he received hundreds of messages, people recognized him on the streets and would ask him questions, but Babchenko still found time to answer personal notes.

If I met Babchenkos killers, said Kanygin at Novaya Gazeta, I would tell them that they would never be able to kill our memories and that Arkady Babchenko will always stay a heroic reporter who had the guts to write things that most people were too scared even to think of.

Original Article : HERE ; This post was curated & posted using : RealSpecific

=> *********************************************** Read More Here: Another Putin Critic Murdered in Ukraine? Nope. His Death Was a Sting That Caught Alleged Assassin ************************************ =>

Another Putin Critic Murdered in Ukraine? Nope. His Death Was a Sting That Caught Alleged Assassin was originally posted by Viral News - Feed

[politicalirony-blog]

Convict the Don

Clearly, Trump is now looking for kompromat to discredit his opponent Biden, to take revenge for his friend Paul Manafort, who is serving seven years in prison. We do not investigate Biden in Ukraine, since we have not received a single official request to do so.

— Anton Geraschenko, the Ukrainian government official who would oversee such an investigation.

President Trump in a July phone call…

[courtneytincher]

Ukraine is Ready to Investigate Biden's Son—But Only If There's an Official U.S. Request

Mark Makela/REUTERSKYIV—Ukraine is ready to investigate the connections Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden had with the Ukrainian natural-gas company Burisma Holdings, according to Anton Geraschenko, a senior adviser to the country’s interior minister who would oversee such an inquiry. Geraschenko told The Daily Beast in an exclusive interview that “as soon as there is an official request from the Trump administration, we’ll look into it,” but “currently there is no open investigation.”“Clearly,” said Geraschenko, “Trump is now looking for kompromat to discredit his opponent Biden, to take revenge for his friend Paul Manafort, who is serving seven years in prison.” Among the counts on which Manafort was convicted: tax evasion. “We do not investigate Biden in Ukraine, since we have not received a single official request to do so,” said Geraschenko.His remarks last week came amid widespread speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump had made vital U.S. military aid for Ukraine contingent on such an inquiry, but had tried to do so informally through unofficial representatives, including his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Giuliani’s adviser on Ukraine, Sam Kislin. Trump Whistleblower Saga Threatens to Blow Up 2020 CampaignBut Geraschenko spoke before the appearance of a Washington Post story on Thursday that implied that an intelligence-community whistleblower may have reported the untoward quid pro quo was put forth directly by Trump in a phone call with Ukraine’s recently elected president last July. Geraschenko reconfirmed his statements in a phone call on Friday.The U.S. administration has thus far blocked efforts by Congress to learn precisely what the whistleblower reported, which Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson deemed an “urgent matter” while offering no details. The Post, citing two sources, said the allegation involved a “promise” made to a foreign leader.  Trump spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25. Toward the end of August, the White House reportedly was considering whether to block $250 million to support Ukraine’s military in its war against Russian-backed separatists. On September 12, however, that funding was released, and even increased. Congressional pressure played a role, and it is unclear whether the whistleblower’s reported "promise" allegations, made soon after the Zelensky phone call, did as well.What’s certain is that American and Ukrainian politics are closely connected these days, and on Thursday evening Giuliani admitted he had asked officials in Ukraine to investigate Biden. Giuliani told CNN’s Chris Cuomo in a contentious interview there is nothing wrong with pressing for an investigation into corruption.Others might call this whole affair a matter of political—indeed, geopolitical—extortion.At a minimum, Giuliani’s pressure has been interpreted here as weakening this country’s institutions by pressing them to dig for dirt on Trump’s most important Democratic challenger. Ukraine's law enforcement agencies believe that it is up to the U.S. investigators to ascertain, specifically, whether Biden’s son had any missed U.S. tax payments on income from Ukraine. Biden’s son, Hunter, actually took a job with the Ukrainian gas company, Burisma Holding, in 2014 and worked for the Ukrainian company for five years, then quietly quit in April, soon after his father announced his presidential candidacy. It is unclear how much money Burisma paid Hunter Biden in total. Whatever it was, he may rue the work, given the political cost.Ukrainian pro-Western politician and corruption fighter, ex-MP Serhiy Leshchenko, has been in the epicenter of the Giuliani-Biden scandal in Ukraine, after Giuliani mentioned his name as one of “the enemies of Donald Trump and the USA.” The Trump attorney continued to criticize Ukraine’s leadership by saying that Ukraine’s president “is surrounded by people who are the enemies of the president [Trump] and people who are clearly corrupt.”Any word of criticism pronounced by such influential Americans may be damaging to careers here. As a result of Giuliani’s statements, Leshchenko has lost a promising role on Zelensky’s team.  “Both the United States and Ukraine are throwing Biden’s case at each other like a hot potato, pushing each other to begin investigating Biden,” Leshchenko told The Daily Beast on Tuesday. “I totally understand, and I don’t want to be in the way, since Zelensky clearly does not want to quarrel with Trump. The United States is our main strategic partner and I value that.” Earlier this month, Ukraine’s President Zelensky publicly thanked President Donald Trump for releasing the military aid vital for his country. Zelensky spoke at the annual Yalta European Strategy conference, which this year had a symbolic title: Happiness Now. Ukraine elected Zelensky and his supporters in parliament by a landslide earlier this year, largely in response to the alleged corruption of his predecessor and amid hopes the former comedian-turned-politician could end the war with separatists that has killed more than 13,000 people.To bring an end to the carnage, Zelensky needs strong international support. He hopes to strike a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin with backing from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron at a so-called Normandy Four meeting later this month. Zelensky said he also plans to meet with Trump before the end of September.Russia and Ukraine recently swapped prisoners, a positive sign, but Zelensky has offered no clues on possible concessions. He demands, as did his predecessor, that Russia return the annexed Crimean peninsula to Ukraine, a non-starter for Putin.The Trump administration eventually released $390 million in military aid to Ukraine,  $140 million more than the amount Kiev had expected before the administration suspended the funds for “review” last month.Russia and Ukraine Swap Prisoners in a Victory for Diplomacy“For now, we would like America to support us more, and not only with money but also with the newest weapons in our war against the aggressor, the Russian Federation,” Geraschenko, the adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, told The Daily Beast. “We want a status as NATO’s special partner, allowing us to buy any weapons in the U.S., including the newest anti-aircraft rockets to defend our country in case Russia decides to attack from the air; our technology is more than 40 years old.”Zelensky’s team is struggling to overcome war, poverty, and corruption. Clearly, the idea of helping politicians of foreign states win elections is not a part of his public agenda. “This is a very special stage in Ukraine’s development: we have completely changed this year, our mentality has changed, we realize that the entire world is watching us right now,” Roman Truba, head of the State Bureau of Investigations, said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast.Truba’s agency neither investigated Biden’s son nor Burisma Holding. There were no signs of illegality in Biden’s work in Ukraine, he said. “The State Bureau of Investigations should be an independent institution. I wish we would become as highly qualified, equipped with all modern technologies. and professional as the FBI.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

Mark Makela/REUTERSKYIV—Ukraine is ready to investigate the connections Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden had with the Ukrainian natural-gas company Burisma Holdings, according to Anton Geraschenko, a senior adviser to the country’s interior minister who would oversee such an inquiry. Geraschenko told The Daily Beast in an exclusive interview that “as soon as there is an official request from the Trump administration, we’ll look into it,” but “currently there is no open investigation.”“Clearly,” said Geraschenko, “Trump is now looking for kompromat to discredit his opponent Biden, to take revenge for his friend Paul Manafort, who is serving seven years in prison.” Among the counts on which Manafort was convicted: tax evasion. “We do not investigate Biden in Ukraine, since we have not received a single official request to do so,” said Geraschenko.His remarks last week came amid widespread speculation that U.S. President Donald Trump had made vital U.S. military aid for Ukraine contingent on such an inquiry, but had tried to do so informally through unofficial representatives, including his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Giuliani’s adviser on Ukraine, Sam Kislin. Trump Whistleblower Saga Threatens to Blow Up 2020 CampaignBut Geraschenko spoke before the appearance of a Washington Post story on Thursday that implied that an intelligence-community whistleblower may have reported the untoward quid pro quo was put forth directly by Trump in a phone call with Ukraine’s recently elected president last July. Geraschenko reconfirmed his statements in a phone call on Friday.The U.S. administration has thus far blocked efforts by Congress to learn precisely what the whistleblower reported, which Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson deemed an “urgent matter” while offering no details. The Post, citing two sources, said the allegation involved a “promise” made to a foreign leader.  Trump spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25. Toward the end of August, the White House reportedly was considering whether to block $250 million to support Ukraine’s military in its war against Russian-backed separatists. On September 12, however, that funding was released, and even increased. Congressional pressure played a role, and it is unclear whether the whistleblower’s reported "promise" allegations, made soon after the Zelensky phone call, did as well.What’s certain is that American and Ukrainian politics are closely connected these days, and on Thursday evening Giuliani admitted he had asked officials in Ukraine to investigate Biden. Giuliani told CNN’s Chris Cuomo in a contentious interview there is nothing wrong with pressing for an investigation into corruption.Others might call this whole affair a matter of political—indeed, geopolitical—extortion.At a minimum, Giuliani’s pressure has been interpreted here as weakening this country’s institutions by pressing them to dig for dirt on Trump’s most important Democratic challenger. Ukraine's law enforcement agencies believe that it is up to the U.S. investigators to ascertain, specifically, whether Biden’s son had any missed U.S. tax payments on income from Ukraine. Biden’s son, Hunter, actually took a job with the Ukrainian gas company, Burisma Holding, in 2014 and worked for the Ukrainian company for five years, then quietly quit in April, soon after his father announced his presidential candidacy. It is unclear how much money Burisma paid Hunter Biden in total. Whatever it was, he may rue the work, given the political cost.Ukrainian pro-Western politician and corruption fighter, ex-MP Serhiy Leshchenko, has been in the epicenter of the Giuliani-Biden scandal in Ukraine, after Giuliani mentioned his name as one of “the enemies of Donald Trump and the USA.” The Trump attorney continued to criticize Ukraine’s leadership by saying that Ukraine’s president “is surrounded by people who are the enemies of the president [Trump] and people who are clearly corrupt.”Any word of criticism pronounced by such influential Americans may be damaging to careers here. As a result of Giuliani’s statements, Leshchenko has lost a promising role on Zelensky’s team.  “Both the United States and Ukraine are throwing Biden’s case at each other like a hot potato, pushing each other to begin investigating Biden,” Leshchenko told The Daily Beast on Tuesday. “I totally understand, and I don’t want to be in the way, since Zelensky clearly does not want to quarrel with Trump. The United States is our main strategic partner and I value that.” Earlier this month, Ukraine’s President Zelensky publicly thanked President Donald Trump for releasing the military aid vital for his country. Zelensky spoke at the annual Yalta European Strategy conference, which this year had a symbolic title: Happiness Now. Ukraine elected Zelensky and his supporters in parliament by a landslide earlier this year, largely in response to the alleged corruption of his predecessor and amid hopes the former comedian-turned-politician could end the war with separatists that has killed more than 13,000 people.To bring an end to the carnage, Zelensky needs strong international support. He hopes to strike a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin with backing from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron at a so-called Normandy Four meeting later this month. Zelensky said he also plans to meet with Trump before the end of September.Russia and Ukraine recently swapped prisoners, a positive sign, but Zelensky has offered no clues on possible concessions. He demands, as did his predecessor, that Russia return the annexed Crimean peninsula to Ukraine, a non-starter for Putin.The Trump administration eventually released $390 million in military aid to Ukraine,  $140 million more than the amount Kiev had expected before the administration suspended the funds for “review” last month.Russia and Ukraine Swap Prisoners in a Victory for Diplomacy“For now, we would like America to support us more, and not only with money but also with the newest weapons in our war against the aggressor, the Russian Federation,” Geraschenko, the adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, told The Daily Beast. “We want a status as NATO’s special partner, allowing us to buy any weapons in the U.S., including the newest anti-aircraft rockets to defend our country in case Russia decides to attack from the air; our technology is more than 40 years old.”Zelensky’s team is struggling to overcome war, poverty, and corruption. Clearly, the idea of helping politicians of foreign states win elections is not a part of his public agenda. “This is a very special stage in Ukraine’s development: we have completely changed this year, our mentality has changed, we realize that the entire world is watching us right now,” Roman Truba, head of the State Bureau of Investigations, said in an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast.Truba’s agency neither investigated Biden’s son nor Burisma Holding. There were no signs of illegality in Biden’s work in Ukraine, he said. “The State Bureau of Investigations should be an independent institution. I wish we would become as highly qualified, equipped with all modern technologies. and professional as the FBI.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

September 20, 2019 at 02:10PM via IFTTT

[newseveryhourly]

By Wednesday afternoon, most of Arkady Babchenko's friends and colleagues had gone through the familiar cycle of grief and confusion that follows the killing of a Russian dissident journalist.  Obituaries had been written, travel arrangements were in train for the funeral, and Western politicians including Boris Johnson had announced they were "appalled".  Meanwhile, Ukraine had blamed Russia, Russia had blamed Ukraine, and both launched rival investigations to prove their stories.  And journalists in both countries, taught by bitter experience not to trust official probes into the deaths of their colleagues, pledged to run their own investigations. But then came a twist that no one could have predicted: Vasily Gritsak, the head of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), called a press conference and announced the whole thing had been a hoax.  Arkady Babchenko, right, appeared at a Press conference into his own 'death' held by the head of Ukraine's Security Service Credit: VALENTYN OGIRENKO /Reuters For a moment, there was an uncomprehending silence. Then a door opened, and in shuffled a familiar shaven headed man.  Arkady Babchenko was wearing light trousers and a black hoodie. And he was looking somewhat sheepish.  "I have buried many friends and colleagues many times and I know the sickening feeling," he said, by way of explanation. "I am sorry you had to experience it. But there was no other way." "Special apologies to my wife. Olechka, I am sorry, but there were no options here," he said. "The operation took two months to prepare. I was told a month ago. As a result of the operation, one person has been captured, he is being held," he added.  Mr Gritsak said Mr Babchenko's fake death, which fooled his closest friends and family, as well as international media and world leaders, had allowed Ukrainian agents to thwart a genuine plot to take the journalist's life. Arkady Babchenko and his wife Olga, to whom he apologised for the fakery Credit: Facebook/east2west news  Staging the murder, he implied, was necessary to gain evidence of communication between the hit man and his handlers, who he said worked for the Russian security services.  Yury Lutsenko, Ukraine's prosecutor general, said the alleged plot had involved a Ukrainian citizen recruited by Russian handlers to carry out the murder.  The SBU later released video of what they said was money being handed to the hired killer.  The death and resurrection of Russia's most famous war correspondent is one of the strangest episodes in the bitter confrontation between Russia and Ukraine.  A matter of life and death: How the set-up unfolded Tuesday 8pm: The killing Ukrainian Police announce that Arkady Babchenko has been shot and killed at his Kiev flat. An image is released of a man's body riddled with bullets. Volodymyr Groysman, Ukraine's prime minister, blames Russia's "totalitarian machine". An image is released apparently showing the gunshot-riddled body of Arkady Babchenko Credit: CEN/kyivoperativ.info  Tuesday 9pm: The scene Police guard Mr Babchenko's flat. Further details emerge, including that the body was found by Mr Babchenko's wife and that the killer had been lurking in the stairwell. Ukrainian police officers guard the entrance to Babchenko's home Credit: VALENTYN OGIRENKO /Reuters Tuesday 10pm: The Press Reporters outside Mr Babchenko's flat on Tuesday night, as the Ukrainian media and Russian dissidents reacted with horror. A woman is interviewed outside Arkady Babchenko's home Credit: Ivan Kovalenko /Polaris / eyevine  Wednesday 10am: The shrine Tributes to Mr Babchenko in Kiev. Vladimir Putin's spokesman condemns the murder and denies Russian involvement. Boris Johnson tweets that he is "appalled". Flowers lay under a picture of Arkady Babchenko in Kiev Credit: VASILY MAXIMOV /AFP Wednesday 3pm: The arrest Ukraine's security service calls a press conference in Kiev. Mr Babchenko emerges and apologises to his wife, Olga. Footage is released of the arrest of a suspect in the plot to kill the journalist. The Ukraine Security Service releases footage of the arrest of a suspect in the plot Credit: AFP/YOUTUBE/UKRAINE SECURITY SERVICE 'A victory... a stunt': How Babchenko's 'death' sent shockwaves around world Kiev hailed a victory and Moscow condemned a stunt. Konstantin Kosachev, head of the international affairs committee of the upper house of the Russian parliament, compared Ukraine's actions to Britain accusing Moscow of being behind the nerve gas poisonings of a Russian former spy and his daughter in England. Russia vehemently denies poisoning Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia Skripal. "The logic is the same - to defame Russia," Kosachev told the state news agency Tass. But the move also drew criticism from journalists and media freedom groups who said it undermined faith in reporting and played into the hands of governments who dismiss unwelcome coverage as fake news.  News of Mr Babchenko's "death" sent shockwaves through the Russian journalistic community and opposition circles when it was announced on Tuesday evening.  While I am very happy Arkady is alive I am also angry and confused because my fellow reporters and I spent yesterday posting and reading memories we shared of him and feeling very down and out. This was apparently some kind of sting operation. I hope it was worth it.— Simon Ostrovsky (@SimonOstrovsky) May 30, 2018 Ukrainian police said the veteran war correspondent had been killed by a gunman lurking in the stairwell outside his Kiev flat late on Tuesday evening.  Police said his wife, Olga, found his body on the threshold of the flat with several gunshot wounds in his back and that he died in an ambulance on the way to hospital.  All of this seemed entirely plausible to those who knew him. Mr Babchenko was an implacable public critic of the Kremlin whose public statements had become increasingly abrasive, and the death appeared to fit with a pattern of murders in Kiev.  The 2016 Kiev murder of Pavel Sheremet, another journalist, has still not been solved Credit: VALENTYN OGIRENKO The unsolved deaths include that of Pavel Sheremet, a prominent Belarusian born liberal journalist who was blown up in his car in 2016.  The gunman in the stairwell and the shots in the back also recalled the deaths of two other prominent Kremlin critics - Anna Politkovskaya and Boris Nemtsov, who were murdered in Moscow in 2006 and 2015.  One Russian war photographer and friend of Mr Babchenko told the Telegraph he was "not surprised," on reflection, that his friend had been killed.  Babchenko had fled Russia over fears to his safety Credit: Akrady Babchenko/Facebook Several acquaintances of Mr Babchenko, many of whom had posted tributes online or even written obituaries for the Russian and foreign media, expressed relief mixed with deep unease over the deception.  And media freedom groups condemned the hoax, saying it could put other journalists in danger and play into the hands of those behind real murders.  "It is pathetic and regrettable that the Ukrainian police have played with the truth, whatever their motive," said Christophe Deloire, the head of Reporter Without Borders. "All it takes is one case like this to cast doubt on all the other political assassinations." Babchenko, a conscript in the Chechen wars, was a fierce critic of Putin Credit: Akrady Babchenko/Facebook Nor did it shine a light on the other unsolved murders - which some Ukrainian activists say the authorities have been distinctly reluctant to investigate with anything like the same level of commitment.  When a Ukrainian journalist asked about the investigation into "a real murder - that of Pavel Sheremet," Mr Gritsak replied: "We have a different topic today." The Russian government, which in the morning had condemned Mr Babchenko's murder and denied accusations of involvement, in the evening welcomed his recovery and swiftly condemned the hoax as "propaganda."  Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko  Credit: AP "The fact that Babchenko is alive is the best news" said Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the foreign ministry. "The fact that the whole story was created for propaganda effect is obvious." The Ukrainian government was defiant over the operation on Wednesday night. "I congratulate the SBU. You have conducted a brilliant operation to protect the life of Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko," Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president, wrote on Facebook.  Anton Geraschenko, an aide to the Ukrainian interior ministry, justified the pain caused to Mr Babchenko's family and friends by the hoax saying Sherlock Holmes had used the same tactic. "Wasn't that also painful for his relatives and Dr Watson," he wrote on Facebook.  Ukrainian Journalists, who originally rallied at Independence Square in Kiev to mourn anti-Kremlin journalist Arkady Babchenko, celebrate after he appeared alive and well  Credit: AFP Dozens of journalists descended upon the central square in Kiev late on  Wednesday, laughing, hugging and quaffing sparkling wine as they celebrated the "resurrection" of Mr Babchenko. "It's an incredible story of a resurrection," joked Russian journalist Pavel Kanygin who like several of his Russian colleagues had rushed to Kiev to cover the story. "It's a miracle, but a miracle that turned out to be a staged drama". Mr Babchenko himself was in a meeting with Mr Poroshenko as the group of journalists from local and international media popped corks and took selfies. "We were preparing for the funeral, Many of us didn't sleep last night. We bought plane tickets for the first flight to Kiev," said Kanygin, who works for the investigative Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. ATR journalists react on Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko's appearance during a news conference, in the ATR newsroom in Kiev Credit: Reuters He was at the offices of the Ukrainian private television ATR, where Mr Babchenko works, when the "murdered" journalist made his surprise reappearance. "Everybody just erupted, shouting 'hooray, he's alive,' it was an incredible moment," he said.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/2Jbrq4P

[gnmagazine]

By Wednesday afternoon, most of Arkady Babchenko's friends and colleagues had gone through the familiar cycle of grief and confusion that follows the killing of a Russian dissident journalist.  Obituaries had been written, travel arrangements were in train for the funeral, and Western politicians including Boris Johnson had announced they were "appalled".  Meanwhile, Ukraine had blamed Russia, Russia had blamed Ukraine, and both launched rival investigations to prove their stories.  And journalists in both countries, taught by bitter experience not to trust official probes into the deaths of their colleagues, pledged to run their own investigations. But then came a twist that no one could have predicted: Vasily Gritsak, the head of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), called a press conference and announced the whole thing had been a hoax.  Arkady Babchenko, right, appeared at a Press conference into his own 'death' held by the head of Ukraine's Security Service Credit: VALENTYN OGIRENKO /Reuters For a moment, there was an uncomprehending silence. Then a door opened, and in shuffled a familiar shaven headed man.  Arkady Babchenko was wearing light trousers and a black hoodie. And he was looking somewhat sheepish.  "I have buried many friends and colleagues many times and I know the sickening feeling," he said, by way of explanation. "I am sorry you had to experience it. But there was no other way." "Special apologies to my wife. Olechka, I am sorry, but there were no options here," he said. "The operation took two months to prepare. I was told a month ago. As a result of the operation, one person has been captured, he is being held," he added.  Mr Gritsak said Mr Babchenko's fake death, which fooled his closest friends and family, as well as international media and world leaders, had allowed Ukrainian agents to thwart a genuine plot to take the journalist's life. Arkady Babchenko and his wife Olga, to whom he apologised for the fakery Credit: Facebook/east2west news  Staging the murder, he implied, was necessary to gain evidence of communication between the hit man and his handlers, who he said worked for the Russian security services.  Yury Lutsenko, Ukraine's prosecutor general, said the alleged plot had involved a Ukrainian citizen recruited by Russian handlers to carry out the murder.  The SBU later released video of what they said was money being handed to the hired killer.  The death and resurrection of Russia's most famous war correspondent is one of the strangest episodes in the bitter confrontation between Russia and Ukraine.  A matter of life and death: How the set-up unfolded Tuesday 8pm: The killing Ukrainian Police announce that Arkady Babchenko has been shot and killed at his Kiev flat. An image is released of a man's body riddled with bullets. Volodymyr Groysman, Ukraine's prime minister, blames Russia's "totalitarian machine". An image is released apparently showing the gunshot-riddled body of Arkady Babchenko Credit: CEN/kyivoperativ.info  Tuesday 9pm: The scene Police guard Mr Babchenko's flat. Further details emerge, including that the body was found by Mr Babchenko's wife and that the killer had been lurking in the stairwell. Ukrainian police officers guard the entrance to Babchenko's home Credit: VALENTYN OGIRENKO /Reuters Tuesday 10pm: The Press Reporters outside Mr Babchenko's flat on Tuesday night, as the Ukrainian media and Russian dissidents reacted with horror. A woman is interviewed outside Arkady Babchenko's home Credit: Ivan Kovalenko /Polaris / eyevine  Wednesday 10am: The shrine Tributes to Mr Babchenko in Kiev. Vladimir Putin's spokesman condemns the murder and denies Russian involvement. Boris Johnson tweets that he is "appalled". Flowers lay under a picture of Arkady Babchenko in Kiev Credit: VASILY MAXIMOV /AFP Wednesday 3pm: The arrest Ukraine's security service calls a press conference in Kiev. Mr Babchenko emerges and apologises to his wife, Olga. Footage is released of the arrest of a suspect in the plot to kill the journalist. The Ukraine Security Service releases footage of the arrest of a suspect in the plot Credit: AFP/YOUTUBE/UKRAINE SECURITY SERVICE 'A victory... a stunt': How Babchenko's 'death' sent shockwaves around world Kiev hailed a victory and Moscow condemned a stunt. Konstantin Kosachev, head of the international affairs committee of the upper house of the Russian parliament, compared Ukraine's actions to Britain accusing Moscow of being behind the nerve gas poisonings of a Russian former spy and his daughter in England. Russia vehemently denies poisoning Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia Skripal. "The logic is the same - to defame Russia," Kosachev told the state news agency Tass. But the move also drew criticism from journalists and media freedom groups who said it undermined faith in reporting and played into the hands of governments who dismiss unwelcome coverage as fake news.  News of Mr Babchenko's "death" sent shockwaves through the Russian journalistic community and opposition circles when it was announced on Tuesday evening.  While I am very happy Arkady is alive I am also angry and confused because my fellow reporters and I spent yesterday posting and reading memories we shared of him and feeling very down and out. This was apparently some kind of sting operation. I hope it was worth it.— Simon Ostrovsky (@SimonOstrovsky) May 30, 2018 Ukrainian police said the veteran war correspondent had been killed by a gunman lurking in the stairwell outside his Kiev flat late on Tuesday evening.  Police said his wife, Olga, found his body on the threshold of the flat with several gunshot wounds in his back and that he died in an ambulance on the way to hospital.  All of this seemed entirely plausible to those who knew him. Mr Babchenko was an implacable public critic of the Kremlin whose public statements had become increasingly abrasive, and the death appeared to fit with a pattern of murders in Kiev.  The 2016 Kiev murder of Pavel Sheremet, another journalist, has still not been solved Credit: VALENTYN OGIRENKO The unsolved deaths include that of Pavel Sheremet, a prominent Belarusian born liberal journalist who was blown up in his car in 2016.  The gunman in the stairwell and the shots in the back also recalled the deaths of two other prominent Kremlin critics - Anna Politkovskaya and Boris Nemtsov, who were murdered in Moscow in 2006 and 2015.  One Russian war photographer and friend of Mr Babchenko told the Telegraph he was "not surprised," on reflection, that his friend had been killed.  Babchenko had fled Russia over fears to his safety Credit: Akrady Babchenko/Facebook Several acquaintances of Mr Babchenko, many of whom had posted tributes online or even written obituaries for the Russian and foreign media, expressed relief mixed with deep unease over the deception.  And media freedom groups condemned the hoax, saying it could put other journalists in danger and play into the hands of those behind real murders.  "It is pathetic and regrettable that the Ukrainian police have played with the truth, whatever their motive," said Christophe Deloire, the head of Reporter Without Borders. "All it takes is one case like this to cast doubt on all the other political assassinations." Babchenko, a conscript in the Chechen wars, was a fierce critic of Putin Credit: Akrady Babchenko/Facebook Nor did it shine a light on the other unsolved murders - which some Ukrainian activists say the authorities have been distinctly reluctant to investigate with anything like the same level of commitment.  When a Ukrainian journalist asked about the investigation into "a real murder - that of Pavel Sheremet," Mr Gritsak replied: "We have a different topic today." The Russian government, which in the morning had condemned Mr Babchenko's murder and denied accusations of involvement, in the evening welcomed his recovery and swiftly condemned the hoax as "propaganda."  Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko  Credit: AP "The fact that Babchenko is alive is the best news" said Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the foreign ministry. "The fact that the whole story was created for propaganda effect is obvious." The Ukrainian government was defiant over the operation on Wednesday night. "I congratulate the SBU. You have conducted a brilliant operation to protect the life of Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko," Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president, wrote on Facebook.  Anton Geraschenko, an aide to the Ukrainian interior ministry, justified the pain caused to Mr Babchenko's family and friends by the hoax saying Sherlock Holmes had used the same tactic. "Wasn't that also painful for his relatives and Dr Watson," he wrote on Facebook.  Ukrainian Journalists, who originally rallied at Independence Square in Kiev to mourn anti-Kremlin journalist Arkady Babchenko, celebrate after he appeared alive and well  Credit: AFP Dozens of journalists descended upon the central square in Kiev late on  Wednesday, laughing, hugging and quaffing sparkling wine as they celebrated the "resurrection" of Mr Babchenko. "It's an incredible story of a resurrection," joked Russian journalist Pavel Kanygin who like several of his Russian colleagues had rushed to Kiev to cover the story. "It's a miracle, but a miracle that turned out to be a staged drama". Mr Babchenko himself was in a meeting with Mr Poroshenko as the group of journalists from local and international media popped corks and took selfies. "We were preparing for the funeral, Many of us didn't sleep last night. We bought plane tickets for the first flight to Kiev," said Kanygin, who works for the investigative Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. ATR journalists react on Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko's appearance during a news conference, in the ATR newsroom in Kiev Credit: Reuters He was at the offices of the Ukrainian private television ATR, where Mr Babchenko works, when the "murdered" journalist made his surprise reappearance. "Everybody just erupted, shouting 'hooray, he's alive,' it was an incredible moment," he said.

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“Erschießen sie wie Schweine”: Selenski-Regime macht Jagd auf Zivilisten

Wochenblick: Während sich der Westen in Jubelmeldungen über kleine Gebietsgewinne der ukrainischen Streitkräfte ergeht, rächen sich die Häscher des Selenski-Regimes beinhart an der Zivilbevölkerung. All jene, welche sie in den eroberten Orten verdächtigen, mit den Russen zusammengearbeitet zu haben, werden abgeknallt. Das verlautbarte nicht etwa ein Freischärler des berüchtigten, radikalen “Asow”-Bataillons, sondern mit Anton Geraschenko ein … “Erschießen sie wie Schweine”: Selenski-Regime macht Jagd auf Zivilisten Weiterlesen » http://dlvr.it/SZhQry

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Fall Babtschenko ǀ Eine fragwürdige Inszenierung — der Freitag

Neuer Beitrag veröffentlicht bei https://melby.de/fall-babtschenko-%c7%80-eine-fragwuerdige-inszenierung-der-freitag/

Fall Babtschenko ǀ Eine fragwürdige Inszenierung — der Freitag

Es war eine dramatische Wendung erster Kajüte: Auf der Pressekonferenz, die anlässlich einer Mordermittlung stattfindet, geht ein Raunen durch die Reihen, als sich herausstellt, dass der Stargast das Opfer selbst ist, grinsend und kein bisschen tot.

Der mutige, umstrittene und widersprüchliche Journalist Arkadi Babtschenko wurde nicht von einem Auftragsmörder in den Rücken geschossen, wie Vertreter der ukrainischen Regierung und entsprechende, an die Öffentlichkeit gelangte Fotos die Weltöffentlichkeit Glauben machten. Vielmehr hat er seinen eigenen Tod im Rahmen einer streng geheimen Operation nur vorgetäuscht, um so den echten Mörder zu fassen, der angeblich auf Geheiß Moskaus auf ihn angesetzt gewesen sein soll.

Im Moskauer Haus der Journalisten nahm man schnell eine Gedenktafel für Babtschenko ab, Nachrufe wurden aus dem Netz genommen oder durch die nicht unerhebliche Korrektur ergänzt.

Der Unglaube und die Freude seiner Freunde und Kollegen darüber, dass ihre Trauer und ihr Schmerz verfrüht waren, führten schon bald zu der Frage, ob es denn wirklich keine andere Möglichkeit gegeben hätte, als die ganze Welt – und angeblich sogar Babtschenkows eigene Frau – einen ganzen Tag lang auf so grausame Weise hinters Licht zu führen.

Die Sache ist schon ein wenig seltsam“

„In einer halben Stunde sollte ich eigentlich die Titelseite mit einem toten Babtschenko und einem Artikel im Innenteil an die Druckerei schicken. Womit soll ich die Zeitung denn jetzt aufmachen? Babtschenko lebt?“; schrieb Witaly Sych vom ukrainischen Magazin Nowoye Wremya auf Facebook. „Wer macht denn so etwas? Natürlich ist es gut, dass er lebt. Aber die Sache ist schon ein wenig seltsam.“

Die Geschichte erinnert an die tief-schwarzen Comic-Romane des Kiewer Schriftstellers Andrei Kurkow, die sich oft um Auftragsmorde drehen: In einem geht es unter anderem um einen Mann, der unter Depressionen leidet und über einen Umweg seine eigene Ermordung in Auftrag gibt.

Trotz aller offensichtlichen Absurdität gibt es in diesem Fall aber nichts zu lachen: Babtschenko ist wirklich aus Russland geflohen, weil er Angst um sein Leben hatte, und es kann durchaus einen echten Plan gegeben haben, ihn zu ermorden. Die Frage besteht darin, ob die ukrainischen Behörden durch die Verhinderung dieses mutmaßlichen Mordes (wenn das wirklich zutreffen sollte) nicht mehr Schaden angerichtet haben und ob es nicht einen weniger provokanten Weg gegeben hätte, dieses Ziel zu erreichen.

Das nächste Mal, wenn ein Kreml-Kritiker erschossen oder vergiftet wird oder vom Balkon fällt, wird die erste Frage immer lauten: Ist er wirklich tot? Es besteht kein Zweifel daran, dass Moskau in Zukunft auf Berichte und Bilder verschiedener mit Russland in Verbindung gebrachter Gräueltaten standardmäßig auf den Fall verweisen wird.

„Wenn man mir das nächste Mal Bilder von den Weißhelmen aus Syrien zeigt, werde ich Bilder des ‘von Putin getöteten Arkadi’ entgegenhalten,” schrieb ein pro-russischer Twitter-Nutzer – ein kleiner Vorgeschmack auf das, was mit Sicherheit passieren wird.

Viele Geschmacklosigkeiten

Natürlich ist es kein Grund, eine möglicherweise lebensrettende Aktion nicht durchzuführen, nur weil der Kreml sie in seinem Sinne nutzen dürfte. Doch selbst wenn man davon ausgeht, dass es sehr gute Gründe dafür gegeben hat, die Operation in dieser Weise durchzuführen, bleiben Fragen: War es wirklich notwendig, seinen Tod zu verkünden? Hätte eine ernsthafte Verletzung nicht genügt? War es wirklich nötig, Freunde, Verwandte und russische Journalisten, die bereits mehrere Kollegen und Kolleginnen durch Kugeln verloren haben, so zu erschüttern?

Auch die Art und Weise der Enthüllung waren ziemlich geschmacklos. Anstatt mit gebotenem Ernst die Notwendigkeit für ein derartiges Vorgehen mitzuteilen, wurde Babstchenko auf der Pressekonferenz in einer Art und Weise präsentiert, die die größtmögliche Schockwirkung versprach und eher an einen Illusionskünstler erinnerte, der seine soeben zersägte Assistentin vor den Augen des erstaunten Publikums am Stück aus der Kiste springen lässt.

Präsident Petro Poroschenko sprach von einer „hervorragenden Operation“, während Innenminister Anton Geraschenko seine Aufregung angesichts der Nacht-und-Nebel-Aktion kaum unter Kontrolle halten konnte: „Selbst Sherlock Holmes hat erfolgreich die Methode angewendet, seinen eigenen Tod zu fingieren, um schwierige und komplizierte Verbrechen zu untersuchen, wie schmerzvoll dies für seine Verwandten und Dr. Watson auch gewesen sein mag“, schrieb er auf Facebook.

Der ukrainische Premier Wolodymyr Groysman, hatte noch am Mittwochmorgen erklärt, Babtschenko sei von der „totalitären russischen Maschinerie“ getötet worden, und verlangte, dass „die Mörder bestraft werden“. Es war unklar, ob das alles Teil des Plots war, um die Möchtegern-Mörder ins Bockshorn zu jagen, oder ob er selbst von dem fingierten Tod nichts wusste.

Jetzt wird alles davon abhängen, welche Beweise die Ukraine für die russischen Mordpläne vorlegen kann. Sollte Kiew den eindeutigen Beweis erbringen können, dass der Befehl für den verhinderten Auftragsmörder aus Moskau kam, könnte die ganze Episode als kühner, wenn auch umstrittener Erfolg gewertet werden. Wenn nicht, werden viele dem Vorsitzenden von Reporter ohne Grenzen, Christophe Deloire, zustimmen: „Es ist bedauerlich, dass die ukrainische Polizei mit der Wahrheit gespielt hat, ganz egal, was ihre Motive für den Coup waren“.

Shaun Walker ist Zentral- und Osteuropa-Korrespondent des Guardian

Übersetzung: Holger Hutt

der Freitag Shaun Walker Quelle

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