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| Russia 'frees Ukraine pilot Savchenko in prisoner swap' | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Russia has released jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko following a prisoner swap, local media say. | Russia has released jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko following a prisoner swap, local media say. |
| There has been no official confirmation but sources said she was swapped for Russian prisoners Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov held by Ukraine. | There has been no official confirmation but sources said she was swapped for Russian prisoners Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov held by Ukraine. |
| Savchenko was sentenced to 22 years in jail for killing two journalists in eastern Ukraine - charges she strenuously denied. | Savchenko was sentenced to 22 years in jail for killing two journalists in eastern Ukraine - charges she strenuously denied. |
| She has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance against Russia at home. | She has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance against Russia at home. |
| The 34-year-old pilot was being flown from the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don to Kiev on board Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's plane, sources said. | The 34-year-old pilot was being flown from the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don to Kiev on board Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's plane, sources said. |
| Yerofeyev and Alexandrov were being flown from Kiev to Moscow on board a plane belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin. | Yerofeyev and Alexandrov were being flown from Kiev to Moscow on board a plane belonging to Russian President Vladimir Putin. |
| Ukraine said the two men were elite members of Russian military intelligence but Russia insisted they were not on active duty when they were captured in eastern Ukraine. | |
| The pair were sentenced to 14 years in jail last month after being found guilty of waging an "aggressive war" against Ukraine, committing a terrorist act and using weapons to provoke an armed conflict. | |
| A prisoner swap had long been considered likely. |