This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35860038
The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 6 | Version 7 |
|---|---|
| Savchenko trial: Russian court gives verdict on Ukraine pilot | Savchenko trial: Russian court gives verdict on Ukraine pilot |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A Russian judge has begun reading the verdict on Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko, accused of helping kill two Russian journalists. | A Russian judge has begun reading the verdict on Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko, accused of helping kill two Russian journalists. |
| She is accused of directing the artillery fire in which the two journalists died. | She is accused of directing the artillery fire in which the two journalists died. |
| It was initially thought the judge had found her guilty, but journalists say a final verdict has not yet been delivered. | It was initially thought the judge had found her guilty, but journalists say a final verdict has not yet been delivered. |
| Ukraine and some Western countries have condemned the case as a show trial. | Ukraine and some Western countries have condemned the case as a show trial. |
| The two Russian state TV journalists Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin were killed in mortar fire in June 2014, at the height of fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels. | The two Russian state TV journalists Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin were killed in mortar fire in June 2014, at the height of fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels. |
| On the same day, Ms Savchenko, 34, was captured by rebels. | On the same day, Ms Savchenko, 34, was captured by rebels. |
| Ms Savchenko, a pilot by training, is accused of having acted as an artillery spotter on the ground. | Ms Savchenko, a pilot by training, is accused of having acted as an artillery spotter on the ground. |
| She denies the charges. Her lawyer has argued phone records prove she was captured by rebels before the attack. | She denies the charges. Her lawyer has argued phone records prove she was captured by rebels before the attack. |
| Ms Savchenko had arrived in the area a few days previously to join the volunteer Aidar battalion, loyal to the Ukrainian government. | Ms Savchenko had arrived in the area a few days previously to join the volunteer Aidar battalion, loyal to the Ukrainian government. |
| According to her lawyers, she was captured by rebel militants on the morning of 17 June whilst trying to reach several Aidar fighters who had been wounded in an ambush. | According to her lawyers, she was captured by rebel militants on the morning of 17 June whilst trying to reach several Aidar fighters who had been wounded in an ambush. |
| Ms Savchenko says her captors then took her into Russia, but prosecutors say she secretly crossed into Russian territory herself. | Ms Savchenko says her captors then took her into Russia, but prosecutors say she secretly crossed into Russian territory herself. |
| Ukraine resistance symbol in Russia | Ukraine resistance symbol in Russia |
| Caught in the middle of a media war | Caught in the middle of a media war |
| 'A symbol of defiance and hope' | 'A symbol of defiance and hope' |
| Reading the verdict, the judge in the southern Russian town of Donetsk, not far from the Ukrainian border, quoted prosecutors as saying Ms Savchenko had been driven by "political hatred". | |
| The prosecution has called for Ms Savchenko - who was elected as a Ukrainian MP in her absence following her capture - to be jailed for 23 years. | The prosecution has called for Ms Savchenko - who was elected as a Ukrainian MP in her absence following her capture - to be jailed for 23 years. |
| Any sentence will be delivered by the court on Tuesday, after an eventual verdict has been handed down. | Any sentence will be delivered by the court on Tuesday, after an eventual verdict has been handed down. |
| Earlier, one of her lawyers said there was "no doubt" that the court would find Ms Savchenko guilty and sentence her to a "few dozen years". | Earlier, one of her lawyers said there was "no doubt" that the court would find Ms Savchenko guilty and sentence her to a "few dozen years". |
| "A propaganda machine is at work here, absent of justice and freedom," said Mark Feigin on Twitter. | "A propaganda machine is at work here, absent of justice and freedom," said Mark Feigin on Twitter. |
| Western politicians have called for her release. | Western politicians have called for her release. |
| EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has said she should be freed "immediately and unconditionally" while the US envoy to the UN, Samantha Power, described the trial as "farcical". | EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has said she should be freed "immediately and unconditionally" while the US envoy to the UN, Samantha Power, described the trial as "farcical". |
| Relations between Russia and Ukraine - along with its Western allies - have deteriorated since the events of 2014 in Ukraine. | Relations between Russia and Ukraine - along with its Western allies - have deteriorated since the events of 2014 in Ukraine. |
| Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula that March after an unrecognised referendum on self-determination, and is accused of covertly supporting the rebels in the bloody conflict which later divided eastern Ukraine. | Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula that March after an unrecognised referendum on self-determination, and is accused of covertly supporting the rebels in the bloody conflict which later divided eastern Ukraine. |