Accessibility links

Breaking News

Ukrainian Pilot In Russian Custody Transferred To Prison Hospital


A demonstrator in Kyiv holds aloft a picture of the Ukrainian army officer captured by pro-Russian insurgents and taken to Russia, Nadia Savchenko, with the words "Free Nadia Savchenko."
A demonstrator in Kyiv holds aloft a picture of the Ukrainian army officer captured by pro-Russian insurgents and taken to Russia, Nadia Savchenko, with the words "Free Nadia Savchenko."

A lawyer for Nadia Savchenko, a Ukrainian military pilot who has been on a hunger strike in a Russian jail since mid-December, has been transferred to a prison hospital due to severe weight loss.

Savchenko lawyer Ilya Novikov told Interfax that his client, who is in the seventh week of a hunger strike, was transferred to the medical department at Moscow's notorious Matrosskaya Tishina detention center on January 29.

Nadia Savchenko: Anatomy Of A Hunger Strike

Savchenko has been charged with involvement in the deaths of two Russian journalists killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Savchenko, who was captured by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine in June and transferred to Russian custody in July, says Russia has no right to hold or try her.

Savchenko won a seat in Ukraine's parliament in October and was elected to represent Ukraine in the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE).

PACE officials and western leaders have called for Russia to release Savchenko.

With reporting by Interfax
  • 16x9 Image

    RFE/RL

    RFE/RL journalists report the news in 27 languages in 23 countries where a free press is banned by the government or not fully established. We provide what many people cannot get locally: uncensored news, responsible discussion, and open debate.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG