Savchenko visits Ukrainian soldiers in the Donbas
Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, who was recently released from a Russian prison, met with soldiers in the war zone in eastern Ukraine, as reported on the Facebook page of the Ukrainian Armed Forces headquarters.
“During the night the Hero of Ukraine Nadiya Savchenko visited the area of the ATO [Donbas region] and was a real surprise for all. The People’s Deputy of Ukraine was able to talk with a number of military personnel, meet with former comrades in the service, and sit at the helm of a helicopter gunship,” the statement read.
Savchenko was freed as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine on May 25th.
In March a Russian court had found Savchenko guilty of complicity in the killing of two Russian journalists and sentenced her to 22 years in prison.
It is widely believed that Savchenko was in fact captured by Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) separatists in eastern Ukraine and was illegally transported to Russia, where the case was fabricated against her.
Savchenko was elected to the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada in absentia in October of 2014 and became an official delegate of the PACE several months later.
She was exchanged for two Russian GRU soldiers who had been captured in Ukraine, Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov.