Arkady Babchenko's stunned colleagues erupted into celebration and jumped around their Kiev newsroom after the 41-year-old sensationally walked out on stage alive and unharmed.
Some of the bewildered journalists collapsed into tears while others sat in stunned silence as they watched the bombshell revelation unfold that his death had been staged to smoke out a Russian murder plot.
Babchenko, who has previously said he feared a Russian assassination attempt, apologised to friends and family who had begun mourning for him at the press conference - including his own wife.
Late on Wednesday night, dozens of journalists descended upon the central square in Kiev laughing, hugging and drinking sparkling wine as they celebrated Babchenko's 'resurrection'.
On Tuesday, Kiev and national police had said Babchenko, a strong critic of the Kremlin, had been shot multiple times in the back at his apartment building and been found bleeding by his wife. They even issued a picture purportedly showing his bullet-riddled body.
Kiev had been quick to blame Russia's 'totalitarian machine' for Babchenko's murder, which the Kremlin denied. Moscow has now said that Ukraine had used Babchenko as a propaganda tool. The two nations have been in an ongoing conflict since Vladimir Putin invaded the Crimean peninsula in 2014.
Bookmarks