Hromadske Radio: Was it all worth it? Babchenko’s case and credibility of Ukrainian authorities

Published June 4, 2018. Updated June 4 at 5:27 pm

Anti-Kremlin Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko (R), head of Ukraine's security service Vasyl Grytsak (L) and the Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko (C) attend a press conference at Ukrainian Security Service in Kiev on May 30, 2018. Ukraine admitted it had staged the murder of anti-Kremlin journalist Arkady Babchenko in order to foil an attempt on his life by Russia, a stunning development in a case that had attracted global headlines. / AFP PHOTO / Sergei SUPINSKY

Photo by AFP

Editor’s Note: The following is the English-language transcript of Hromadske Radio’s “Ukraine Calling” program on June 2, interviewing journalists Michael Bociurkiw and Kateryna Kruk.

Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of Ukraine Calling. I’m Oksana Smerechuk for Hromadske Radio in Kyiv and we’re bringing you our feature in-depth interview followed by some new music from Ukraine. And in our interview this week, Kyrylo Loukerenko talks to journalists Michael Bociurkiw and Kateryna Kruk about what the attempted assassination of Russian journalist Arkadiy Babchenko, the sting operation, and the media storm that followed, means for Ukraine, for journalism and the ongoing hybrid war, that Russia is engaged in.