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Russian Investigative Committee ready to assist Ukraine in probe of journalist’s murder

Russian investigators will also take all the necessary steps to gather information about Arkady Babchenko’s circle of contacts

MOSCOW, May 30. /TASS/. Russia’s Investigative Committee is ready to assist Ukraine in investigating Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko murder case, the Committee’s spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko told reporters.

"The Investigative Committee is ready to assist Ukrainian law enforcement agencies in investigating Babchenko’s murder," she said, adding that an offer of assistance would be sent to Ukraine.

Petrenko pointed out that Ukraine had not yet succeeded in investigating the murders of other Russian nationals, including journalist Pavel Sheremet and former parliament member Denis Voronenkov.

Russian investigators will also take all the necessary steps to gather information about Babchenko’s circle of contacts, Petrenko pointed out.

"According to the Russian legislation, the Investigative Committee is empowered to look into crimes against Russian citizens even when they are committed by foreign citizens in another country," the Committee’s spokesperson said.

On May 29, journalist Arkady Babchenko was shot at his Kiev apartment door and died on the way to the hospital. Head of the Kiev National Police's main department Andrei Krischenko said that professional activities were being considered as the most likely cause of Babchenko’s murder.

Babchenko was a Russian writer, journalist and war correspondent. He worked for Russia’s Moskovsky Komsomolets daily, as well as for the TV Tsentr and Channel One TV channels, and also wrote articles for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper. After leaving Russia in 2017, he first moved to the Czech Republic, then to Israel and eventually settled in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev in August 2017, where he hosted a show on the ATR Crimean Tatar TV channel.