My presentation was on the protests in Kiev, Lvov, and
Odessa on March 6th surrounding Nadiya Savchenko’s imprisonment in
Russia.
Nadiya was born on May 11, 1981 in Kiev. She petitioned the
Defense Ministry in order to attend the Air Force University in Kharkiv. In 2014,
she volunteered to fight against Pro-Russian conflict. She was captured in 2014
in Metalist by the Donbass People’s Militia. On July 9, 2014 Vladimir Markin
(Russia’s Investigative Committee) confirmed she was detained for killing two
Russian Journalists in a mortar attack outside Luhansk. Her lawyer, who was
also Pussy Riots lawyer, has ample evidence proving she was carried over the
Russian boarder by the Militia and could not have been responsible for the mortar
attack that killed the journalists.
During Savchenko’s incarceration, she was elected into the
Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) and she was awarded as the “Hero of
Ukraine.” Her election has increased the tension surrounding her incarceration
because Russia is technically detaining another country’s political figure.
On March 2nd, Savchenko began a hunger strike but
no Ukrainian doctors were allowed to see her or examine her.
On March 22nd, she was sentenced to 22 years in
prison.
Anna, you know how interested I am in the case of Savchenko. Recently, Putin and Poroshenko had a phone call discussing the possibility of trading Savchenko for two Russian spies the Ukrainian government has detained. Unfortunately, I don't think this will be possible since Russia does not recognize the separatists as their problem. I think Savchenko's case shows that the world has forgotten about the war in Ukraine, and has shifted its focus to Syria.
ReplyDeleteUpdate:http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/566638.html
DeleteYes, I think Emily is right. The phone call took place a while ago, and we have not heard anything yet.
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