A Ukrainian helicopter navigator who spent two years in a Russian jail says she will start another hunger strike if Ukraine’s government doesn’t try harder to get prisoners of war returned…
A Ukrainian helicopter navigator who spent two years in a Russian jail says she will start another hunger strike if Ukraine’s government doesn’t try harder to get prisoners of war returned home.
Nadiya Savchenko, who was freed through a prisoner swap in May, is now an MP for an opposition party and a thorn in President Poroshenko’s side.
“Starting from today, I again announce a hunger strike over the inaction of those who hold power in the world over the issue of releasing Ukrainians from captivity. I will be on hunger strike until there is a positive result,” she told journalists.
Savchenko’s defiance at Russian authority while in captivity earned her a hero’s welcome when she returned to Ukraine and she has said she could run for president at some stage.
Releasing prisoners of war is one of the terms of the Minsk peace deal which was brokered in February 2015.
Since the conflict started in April 2014 far over 9,400 people have been killed.