PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Vice-President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) were among those who spoke out in support of the unjustly imprisoned Ukrainian soldier and National Deputy Nadiya Savchenko, voiced concern for her health and called on Russian authorities to release her.
Ms. Savchenko has refused both food and water since March 3 to protest her illegal detention. On that day, the Russian court hearing her case refused to allow her to make a final statement after closing arguments were presented by her lawyers. The court then adjourned the trial for a week.
Russian prosecutors accuse Ms. Savchenko of complicity in the deaths of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine. But her defense lawyers have presented mobile phone records that show she was captured by Russian-backed separatists before the mortar attack that killed the journalists. Ms. Savchenko, who was fighting with a volunteer battalion, denies any involvement in the journalists’ deaths and says she was abducted by separatist forces and illegally taken into Russia.
Russian prosecutors are seeking a 23-year prison term for the former military pilot. Ukraine says Ms. Savchenko is being subjected to a show trial and argues that she should be considered a prisoner of war.
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The following statement by Vice-President Biden was released by the White House on March 8.
Last December, I had the great honor of addressing the Ukrainian Rada. I spoke to them about how, as members of Ukraine’s Parliament, they had the opportunity to write a new future for their country. But one Rada member was notably missing that day – Nadiya Savchenko. Instead, her photo hung from the speaker’s podium as a reminder of her ongoing struggle.
Nadiya has been unjustly imprisoned in Russia since 2014 – detained and facing trial on trumped-up charges. Nadiya was proudly serving her country as a member of the Ukrainian armed forces, fighting in the eastern part of the country when she was abducted by separatists and taken across the border against her will.
During the past 20 months, she has become a symbol of Ukrainian national pride and strength. She was even elected to the Rada from her prison cell. Her unlawful continuing detention is a clear violation of Russia’s commitment under the Minsk agreements, and she should be freed at once. Recently, Nadiya has begun a new hunger strike to protest her detention, and her health has begun to deteriorate after five days with no food or liquids.
Today, as we mark International Women’s Day and honor all the brave women who struggle against injustice in this world, we also stand with Nadiya and with the Ukrainian people. And we call on Russia to make the right choice – to drop all charges and release her at once. Nadiya deserves to go home to her family and friends and join her fellow Rada members to begin shaping a new Ukraine.
The State Department on March 7 released a the following press statement by Secretary of State Kerry.
I am deeply concerned about the health and welfare of Ukrainian pilot and Rada Deputy Nadiya Savchenko, who since Friday has refused food and water to protest her continued detention by the Russian Federation.
In the 20 months since she was captured in eastern Ukraine and taken to Russia, Ms. Savchenko has reportedly endured interrogations, solitary confinement, and forced “psychiatric evaluation.” Her trial and continuing imprisonment demonstrate disregard for international standards, as well as for Russia’s commitments under the Minsk agreements.
The United States once again calls on Russia to immediately release Ms. Savchenko and return her to Ukraine.
Sen. John McCain issued the statement below for a vigil for Ms. Savchenko organized on March 6 by members of the Ukrainian community of Phoenix, Ariz.
I join the Ukrainian community in Phoenix and across the world to raise worldwide awareness of the plight of Nadiya Savchenko who continues her brave fight against Russian oppression and injustice. Despite being unjustly detained and smuggled across the border to face bogus charges in Russia, Ms. Savchenko has never stopped speaking out against the corruption and lawlessness of the Putin regime and continues to fight for democracy, human rights, free speech and the rule of law for the people of Ukraine and Russia. Today, I stand with the Ukrainian people as they implore the world to open its eyes to the injustice that Ms. Savchenko and so many others face at the hands of a murderous Russian regime and call for her immediate release.
I will also keep fighting the Obama administration to finally give the Ukrainian people the defensive weapons they need to defend themselves. Two years after Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea, the Obama administration has still not provided Ukrainian forces with the lethal assistance they need to fight an advanced Russian military, and which the Congress has authorized. The men and women striving to save their homeland have not backed down, and they will continue to fight for their country with or without the U.S. support they need and deserve.
I am deeply proud to be a friend to Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s dismemberment of a sovereign nation. As I have since the first days of the Maidan protests, I will continue to do everything I can to deter Russia’s unabated aggression, and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a free and prosperous Ukraine.