Read Meduza's look back at Babchenko's life A man made by war Why we’ll remember journalist and writer Arkady Babchenko
Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko was shot and killed in Kiev on Tuesday, May 29. According to fellow journalist Ayder Muzhdabaev, he was shot in the back while at home. A source told the website Obozrevatel.com that Babchenko died before paramedics could get him to the hospital.
Ukrainian law enforcement later confirmed Babchenko's death. According to police, Babchenko's wife says she was in the bathroom when she heard what sounded like several loud claps. When she exited, she says she found her husband covered in blood. He apparently died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
According to another report, Babchenko was shot in the entryway to his apartment while coming home from the store. Ukrainianskaya Pravda says Babchenko was shot three times — all in the back.
In a press statement, the Kiev police department said it believes Babchenko was killed as a reprisal for his work as a journalist.
TooShiftyForYou on May 29th, 2018 at 19:49 UTC »
Babchenko, a Chechen war veteran and a staunch critic of President Vladimir Putin, left Russia out of safety concerns after covering the conflict in Ukraine. His murder follows the earlier death of Ukranian-Belarussian journalist Pavel Sheremet by car bomb in central Kiev in 2016.
Russia's Investigative Committee said in an online statement late on Tuesday that it had launched a murder investigation into Babchenko's death. "The Investigative Committee will not let these cruel crimes against Russian citizens go unnoticed," the statement said.
"Not just unnoticed, we're in fact going to make sure everyone hears that investigating our government leads to death." - Russia
schmostin on May 29th, 2018 at 19:15 UTC »
This is so sad. RIP Arkady
Edit: A brave soul, standing up when others quiver: https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/.premium.MAGAZINE-what-could-ultimately-bring-putin-down-1.5439648
Shapitizer on May 29th, 2018 at 19:13 UTC »
"According to fellow journalist Ayder Muzhdabaev, he was shot in the back while at home."
"Babchenko was a vocal critic of Russia’s intervention in eastern Ukraine, accusing Moscow of waging a war of aggression."