Nadia Savchenko: Russia releases Ukrainian pilot convicted of murder

Nadia Savchenko, the fighter pilot convicted of murder by a Russian court, has returned to Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange between the two nations.

The 35-year-old, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison, touched down in Kiev this afternoon after receiving a presidential pardon from Vladimir Putin.

In exchange for her release, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko pardoned and repatriated two Russian special forces agents sentenced to 14 years in prison for hostile acts.

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In March, a Russian court agreed with the prosecution's argument that Savchenko had knowingly directed artillery fire onto Anton Voloshin and Igor Kornelyuk, a journalist and sound engineer for Russian state news channel Rossiya 24.

Savchenko said she had been captured by pro-Russia separatists before the bombardment had started and handed over to Russia to face a politicised kangaroo court. Ukraine's representative to the United Nations, Yuriy Sergeyev, compared her treatment to the "show trials" of the Stalin era.

For many Ukrainians, Savchenko, who had made a name for herself as the first woman to be admitted to the country's prestigious Air Force University, has become a symbol of resistance to Russian aggression. She was even nominated and approved as a member of the Ukrainian parliament in absentia while awaiting trial.

Tweeting the news of her return, Poroshenko described her as the "hero of Ukraine" and said the country was proud of her conduct while being "held hostage" by Russia.

The veteran servicewoman's defiance struck a chord with many in her homeland. As well as spending weeks on hunger strike, Savchenko laughed and sang in court and accused her judges of being "fascists".

Touching down in Kiev today, she remained belligerent, says the BBC, and told reporters: "I am ready to once again give my life for Ukraine on the battlefield."

Nadia Savchenko: Russian court finds pilot guilty of murder

22 March

When members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe take their seats for next month's spring session in Strasbourg, there will be one woman missing.

Nadia Savchenko learnt of her election to Ukraine's parliament and her selection for the council delegation from a prison cell in Russia, where she was awaiting trial for the murder of two Russian journalists.

Finally, after an 18-month trial condemned around the world, a Russian court has found her guilty and sentenced her to 22 years in prison.

The court said Savchenko's actions were motivated by hatred and enmity towards civilians, reports Russian news agency TASS, and "correction" for her crime "is possible only in isolation from society."

The 34-year-old air force officer broke into a traditional Ukrainian song as the sentence was pronounced, forcing judge Leonid Stepanenko to cut his reading short.

He has previously criticised Savchenko for her demeanour, which has seen her laughing, making obscene gestures and referring to the judges as "fascists".

Savchenko has said she does not recognise the trial as legitimate and will not appeal their decision.

So why has Savchenko's trial been so controversial, and how has news of her conviction been received?

What is her background?

Kiev-born Savchenko joined the Ukrainian army aged 16 and was the only female soldier among the Ukrainian peacekeeping troops sent to Iraq in 2004, Radio Free Europe reports. On returning, she broke another gender barrier by successfully petitioning the defence ministry to admit women to the prestigious Air Force University in Kharkiv, becoming a media personality in Ukraine in the process.

She graduated from the academy in 2009 and then served as a helicopter gunner and a navigator. When fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine between the government and pro-Russia rebels in 2014, Savchenko joined the Aidar Battalion, one of the volunteer infantry outfits which sprang up to bolster the overwhelmed national army.

What is she accused of doing?

It is claimed that on the morning of 17 June 2014, Savchenko took part in an attack on a rebel checkpoint in which two Russian journalists, Anton Voloshin and Igor Kornelyuk, were killed by mortar fire. Russian authorities accused her of deliberately directing artillery fire at the men. Savchenko's defence argued that mobile phone evidence shows she was not even present at the time of the bombardment.

What is known for certain is that she was captured by pro-Russia separatists that day and was in a prison cell in Russia three weeks later, accused of double murder. She had remained behind bars for more than 18 months.

Why has her trial caused controversy?

Savchenko says she was captured before the attack and then handed over to Russia to be used as a scapegoat in a politically motivated trial. She is one of several high-profile Ukrainians convicted of serious crimes in Russia since the conflict began. Last year, film director Oleg Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years of hard labour after being found guilty of organising terror attacks on pro-Russia rebels, a charge he denies.

The Russian authorities' version of events, which claims Savchenko entered the country illegally under the guise of a refugee, has not proved convincing to international observers. US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are among those who have called for her release, while 58 members of the European Parliament have signed a request for Russian President Vladimir Putin and 28 other officials be put under sanctions over the "fabricated" charges. The US State Department condemned the prolonged trial as "callous and outrageous" and refers to Savchenko as a "hostage to Russian authorities".

What has been the response to the verdict?

From the start, Savchenko's defence team said an acquittal would be unlikely, with lawyer Mark Feygin saying pressure from the Kremlin meant the court had "no power" to release her. However, the guilty verdict has still stirred up outrage both in Ukraine and abroad.

Amnesty International said the trial had been "deeply politicised" and called for a "full and impartial investigation" of Savchenko's claims that she was abducted and smuggled into Russia.

Ukraine's representative to the United Nations, Yuriy Sergeyev, compared Savchenko's treatment by the Russian justice system to the "show trials" of the Stalin era.

Calls for her release are unlikely to die down anytime soon. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has already asked Moscow to exchange Savchenko for two Russian citizens held in Ukraine on terrorism charges.

Savchenko has become a symbol of national resistance – a "Ukrainian Joan of Arc", as The Economist calls her. However, she remains "Satan's daughter" to the pro-Kremlin mainstream Russian media. "No remorse, only superiority," said the Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda.