'Illegal border crossing' added to Russian charges against Savchenko:
Investigators have brought an additional charge against Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko in what the prosecution called it's "final" case against her, alleging that she illegally crossed the border from Ukraine into Russia.
Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said on April 24 that Savchenko has been officially charged with "complicity in the killing of two or more people, complicity in the killing of two or more people using methods posing danger to the public based on political hatred, and illegally crossing the Russian border."
Markin said the investigation of Savchenko's case had been completed, meaning that the findings of the probe will be sent to her for review and later sent to court for her trial.
Savchenko, 33, is charged in connection with a June 2014 mortar attack that killed two Russian journalists covering the conflict between government forces and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
She says she was kidnapped by pro-Russia separatists who handed her over to Russian military authorities in Ukraine, who illegally took her across the border into Russia.
In her native Ukraine, Savchenko has became a symbol of heroism for her stoic stance in Russian custody.
She has held a lengthy hunger strike, protesting her arrest and insisting the charges against her are fabricated. (TASS, Interfax)
Here's a video from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, taking a look at the country's army. which is rebuilding with some help from Kyiv's allies:
Here's something of an exclusive from RFE/RL's news desk:
BRUSSELS -- A leaked letter from German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier urges the European Union to quickly ease "Russian concerns" regarding the implementation of a free-trade agreement with Ukraine.
Steinmeier's letter to European Commission President Jean-Paul Juncker, which was made available to RFE/RL, calls for a resumption of three-way talks between the EU, Ukraine, and Russia in order to identify "practical solutions."
Russia has voiced opposition to the creation of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), the economic core of a wide ranging Association Agreement concluded in March 2014 by the European Union and Ukraine.
After being postponed amid Russian resistance, the DCFTA is due to enter force by January 1, 2016.
In his letter, dated April 2, Steinmeier urges the European Commission to "use the considerable flexibility that the agreement offers."
He called for a "pragmatic, interest-based and political approach without preconditions."
(Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Brussels corrrespondent Rikard Jozwiak)