Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko read his obituaries in a morgue

Arkady Babchenko has revealed how he hid out in a Ukrainian mortuary to convince the world that he was dead.

Arkady Babchenko: ‘My clothes were covered in blood. I was insanely tired.’ AP

Arkady Babchenko, the dissident Russian journalist who faked his own murder to foil an alleged Kremlin assassination plot, has revealed how he hid out in a Ukrainian mortuary to convince the world he was dead.

He said his purported shooting was staged in intricate detail, including the use of pig’s blood and make-up to create the ­appearance that he had been shot several times in the back. “There couldn’t be any leaks at any level at all,” he said.

Ukrainian police on Tuesday said Babchenko had been shot at the doorway of his flat after ­returning from a nearby shop. They said his wife Olga called emergency services after discovering his body in a pool of blood, but that he died in an ambulance. Babchenko, 41, said his wife was aware that his shooting had been staged. Earlier reports had suggested otherwise.

Medical staff who arrived in the ambulance were also in on the ruse, according to Babchenko, who was taken to a mortuary, where he read breaking news reports about his death. “They hid me in the janitor’s room until the middle of the night,” he said. “I was cold and wrapped in a sheet and I didn’t feel anything. My clothes were covered in blood. I was insanely tired.”

Ukraine named the man who, it says, arranged to pay $53,000 to have him murdered. A court in Kiev identified him as Boris German, a 50-year-old businessman who heads the only non-state-owned arms producer in Ukraine. It charged him with planning to kill Babchenko and dozens more people on the ­orders of Russian intelligence

Oleksiy Tsymbalyuk, a former monk, said on Facebook that Mr German had tried to ­recruit him to kill Babchenko. He said he reported Mr German to the authorities, and took part in the sting operation.

Babchenko said Ukrainian officials had not shared with him any evidence of Russia’s involvement in the alleged plot. Ukraine is under increasing pressure to provide evidence of its allegations against Moscow, and to ­explain why it was necessary to fake Babchenko’s murder.

Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe spokesman Harlem Desir tweeted: “Relieved that Arkady Babchenko is alive. (But) I deplore the decision to spread false information on the life of a journalist. It is the duty of the state to provide correct information.”

Babchenko apologised for any distress, but said his actions had saved his life and the lives of others. “To get 100 per cent proof, we couldn’t scare off the organiser (of the hit),” he said.

Babchenko left Russia in February 2017 after receiving threats, living first in the Czech Republic, then in Israel, before moving to Kiev.

Moscow has denied any involvement in any plot to kill him. Babchenko criticised detractors who said his actions would allow pro-Kremlin media to cast doubt on future reports of genuine violence against President Vladimir Putin’s critics.

“F..k off, please, huh?” Babchenko wrote in a Facebook post criticising articles in the British press that questioned the benefits of the Ukrainian operation. “If you want benefits, give me a British passport and protection. Then you can teach me how to save my family.”

When asked if his life ­remained in danger, Babchenko said: “I don’t know. The (Russian secret service) FSB hasn’t ­informed me of its plans.”

He believed he was a target because of his journalism.

The Times, AFP