Suspected agent arrested for allegedly ordering journalist murder

The Russian journalist who helped the Ukrainian secret service fake his own death today told the British media to 'go f*** themselves' over criticism of the stunt.



Putin critic Arkady Babchenko, 41, shocked the world yesterday when he turned up at a press conference about his own 'murder', revealing that it had been part of a plan to catch two hitmen allegedly hired by the Russian secret service to kill him.



Ukraine today said they have charged one of the two 'hitmen' they caught in the wake of the outlandish scheme, which was likened to a Sherlock Holmes plot.



The man, identified only as Citizen G, was charged with plotting terrorism and faces up to 12 years in jail if convicted, according to Ukrainian news outlets, citing a law enforcement source. Ukrainian secret service released a video purporting to show his arrest in Kiev yesterday.



They are also investigating if the second suspect may be a Chechen assassin.



Babchenko launched his attack on the British media on his Facebook page on Thursday in response to a BBC roundup of press reports on the case.