Ukrainian pilot on trial in Russia goes on hunger strike

Published March 03, 2016

A Ukrainian pilot on trial in Russia says she is going on hunger strike.

Nadezhda Savchenko, on trial in the Russian border town of Donetsk for her alleged involvement in the deaths of two Russian journalists, was fighting in a volunteer battalion against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine when she was captured in June 2014.

Russian authorities say Savchenko provided the Ukrainian army with coordinates for an attack that killed the journalists and several other civilians. The Ukrainian government says she was abducted and should be treated as a prisoner of war.

Savchenko announced on Thursday that she would go on hunger strike after the judge adjourned the hearings until next week.

Prosecutors on Wednesday asked the court to sentence her to 23 years in prison.

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https://www.foxnews.com/world/ukrainian-pilot-on-trial-in-russia-goes-on-hunger-strike