Savchenko's lawyer: The number of Russian servicemen held in Ukraine is more than reported
Nadiya Savchenko’s lawyer Ilya Novikov stated in an interview with the 5th Channel that there are other Russian servicemen, in addition to Evgeny Yerofeev and Alexander Alexandrov, who were detained by the Ukrainian side during hostilities in the Donbas. However, this information wasn't disclosed by the Ukrainian authorities.
According to Novikov, it would be better for Ukraine to reveal this information to the public because it would increase pressure on the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.
“There is no such pressure and this makes our task more difficult, jeopardizing our chances for an exchange,” the lawyer added.
Novikov also stated that he has no right to comment on the decision of the Ukrainian Court by which Yerofeev and Alexandrov were sentenced to 14 years imprisonment because he himself is Russian and a Ukrainian lawyer.
“Recently, I was included in the single roster of Ukrainian lawyers. I’m not allowed to talk about any criminal cases in which I wasn’t directly involved,” Ilya Novikov noted. According to him, the Ukrainian side intends to exchange two convicted Russians for Nadiya Savchenko.
Otherwise, Yerofeev and Alexandrov will stay and serve their sentence in Ukraine. On March 22, Nadiya Savchenko was sentenced to 22 years in prison in Russia. She was accused of involvement in the murder of Russian journalists in the Donbas. On April 5, Savchenko’s court sentence was finalized. Nadiya Savchenko denies the accusations.
On April 18, a court in Kiev issued a sentence on the case of two Russian soldiers, Yerofeev and Alexandrov. They were accused of terrorism and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. The defense stated that they will not appeal the verdict.