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Ukrainian protesters demand that Russia release Savchenko

Ukrainians attend a rally to support Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, outside the Russian Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 8, 2016. About 1,000 people rallied at the Russian Embassy to demand that Russia release Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko. Savchenko was captured in June 2014 while fighting with a Ukrainian volunteer battalion against Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. She is now on trial in Russia, accused of acting as a spotter who called in coordinates for a mortar attack that killed two Russian journalists and several other civilians. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Ukrainians attend a rally to support Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, outside the Russian Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 8, 2016. About 1,000 people rallied at the Russian Embassy to demand that Russia release Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko. Savchenko was captured in June 2014 while fighting with a Ukrainian volunteer battalion against Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. She is now on trial in Russia, accused of acting as a spotter who called in coordinates for a mortar attack that killed two Russian journalists and several other civilians. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

By Associated Press March 8, 2016 1 min read

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) – A few hundred people have marched from Ukraine’s Defense Ministry to the Russian Embassy in Kiev to demand that Russia release Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko.

Among those taking part in Tuesday’s demonstration were members of Ukraine’s parliament and a journalist who was recently released after spending more than a year held by Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Savchenko was captured in June 2014 while fighting with a Ukrainian volunteer battalion in eastern Ukraine. She is now on trial in southern Russia, accused of acting as a spotter who called in coordinates for a mortar attack that killed two Russian journalists and several other civilians.

Savchenko has been on a hunger strike since Thursday. Her trial is expected to resume on Wednesday, with a verdict possible this week.