Two Russian special forces officers who were captured in Ukrainian territory have today been jailed for 14 years each.
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The 34-year-old Savchenko – who has become a national hero at home – began refusing all food and liquids in protest at her sentence on April 6.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has proposed swapping the soldiers for Nadiya Savchenko – a Kiev-born helicopter pilot who was sentenced in Russian Federation to 22 years in prison for her alleged involvement in the killing of two Moscow reporters in the war zone.
Savchenko was found guilty of the murder of journalists from Russia’s VGTRK television channel, Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin; of an attempt to kill civilians, and of illegal crossing of the Russian state border.
According to their lawyers, the two men should be considered prisoners of war as both of them were members of the people’s militia of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) when they were detained. He later tweeted that Savchenko agreed to end the hunger strike during a phone call with him.
Russian sergeant Aleksander Aleksandrov listens to court verdict in Kiev on April 18, 2016.
“Yesterday I initiated a conversation with Putin and based on preliminary preparations it seems to me we have managed to agree on a certain algorithm to free Nadezhda”, Poroshenko told journalists.
Putin and Poroshenko agreed that Ukraine’s Consul General in Rostov-on-Don would be granted access to Savchenko soon, the Kremlin said.
The Russian Defense Ministry has denied sending materiel or men to fight in southeast Ukraine; it said Alexandrov and Yerofeyev had resigned from the military before traveling to fight in Ukraine as volunteers.
“But I would very much ask you to avoid any speculation on this subject, about the time it will take for any return and any further steps”, Poroshenko said.
In a sign that such a swap may be in the works, the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation with his Ukrainian counterpart on Monday night.
But many in Russian Federation see her as a Ukrainian nationalist with the blood of civilians on her hands.
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Peskov would not respond to Poroshenko’s statement when contacted by the Interfax news agency, but only said that her future was discussed during Monday’s call.
