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| Ukraine pilot Savchenko defies judge in final statement | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A Ukrainian pilot on trial in Russia over the killing of two journalists has addressed the court and says she will continue a hunger strike she has been on for five days. | |
| Nadia Savchenko was making her closing statement in the trial. | |
| She denies directing artillery fire at the Russian journalists in June 2014. | |
| She is reported to have refused all food and drink since 3 March when the hearing was adjourned before she could make her a final statement. | |
| During her appearance on Wednesday, she showed the judge her middle finger as a sign she rejects the court's legitimacy. | |
| Her lawyer says sentencing is due later this month. The EU and US have both called for her immediate release. | |
| In a statement, US Vice President Joe Biden described Ms Savchenko as having been "unjustly imprisoned in Russia since 2014 - detained and facing trial on trumped-up charges". | |
| 'Fighting spirit' | 'Fighting spirit' |
| She was captured in 2014 at the height of the fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels. | She was captured in 2014 at the height of the fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels. |
| The 34-year-old insists the whole case against her is politically motivated, and she has become a symbol of Ukraine's resistance against Russia. | |
| She says she was kidnapped by rebel fighters at least an hour before the attack in which the two Russian TV journalists were killed. | She says she was kidnapped by rebel fighters at least an hour before the attack in which the two Russian TV journalists were killed. |
| A team of "the best Ukrainian doctors" are due to examine her on Wednesday amid concerns for her health, according to a Ukrainian lawmaker. | A team of "the best Ukrainian doctors" are due to examine her on Wednesday amid concerns for her health, according to a Ukrainian lawmaker. |
| Ms Savchenko called her hunger strike to protest at what she has described as her "illegal imprisonment" in Russia and "farce" of a murder trial, reports the BBC's Sarah Rainsford from Donetsk in southern Russia where the trial is being held. | |
| Her lawyers have said that in the event of a guilty verdict she should be returned to Ukraine, saying that if she remains in Russia she will face either force-feeding or death. | |
| Whilst the defendant is weak, a Ukrainian diplomat who visited her on Tuesday told the BBC that she was still in "fighting spirit". | Whilst the defendant is weak, a Ukrainian diplomat who visited her on Tuesday told the BBC that she was still in "fighting spirit". |
| The EU has expressed concern about Ms Savchenko's wellbeing, and Nobel prize-winner Svitlana Aleksievich is among more than 4,300 signatories to an open letter urging European leaders to act to secure her freedom. | The EU has expressed concern about Ms Savchenko's wellbeing, and Nobel prize-winner Svitlana Aleksievich is among more than 4,300 signatories to an open letter urging European leaders to act to secure her freedom. |
| Relations between Russia and Ukraine - along with its Western allies - have deteriorated following Moscow's annexation of the Crimea peninsula in 2014 and its support for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. | Relations between Russia and Ukraine - along with its Western allies - have deteriorated following Moscow's annexation of the Crimea peninsula in 2014 and its support for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. |