Savchenko Given Final Charges in Russia

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation presented Nadiya Savchenko with charges of complicity in the murder of Russian journalists and an illegal border crossing. Savchenko advised a Ukrainian SBU official, who criticized the work of her lawyers, “not to stick his nose into her business.”

RIA Novosti has reported that this information was released today to journalists by the agency’s official representative, Vladimir Markin.

In addition to aiding in the murder of two journalists from All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), Savchenko is accused of illegally crossing the Russian-Ukrainian border. She allegedly crossed the border disguised as a refugee and was detained when her documents were checked in a Russian town.

“According to the investigation, during the military operations in the area of Luhansk in June 2014, Savchenko, who became informed of the coordinates of a group of Russian VGTRK journalists and other civilians at Lugansk, passed said information to Ukrainian armed groups. After that, these coordinates were hit with artillery fire, which killed VGTRK employees Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin,” said Markin.

Savchenko’s lawyers claim that she was illegally detained in the territory of Ukraine and taken to Russia.

In the near future, the materials in relation to the criminal case against Savchenko will be transferred to a separate proceeding from the common criminal proceedings of war crimes in the Donbass. This will be done to complete the investigation, and will be presented to the relevant parties for review and subsequently transferred to the court.

Moscow lawyer Mark Feygin reacted to the words of the Chief of the Investigation Department of the Security Service, Vasyl Vovk, on the allegedly inefficient work of Savchenko’s lawyers.

“In connection with yesterday’s attack by a Ukrainian official in relation to Savchenko’s legal defense, I will ask her if she wants different representation,” he wrote.

In a letter to Vovk, which was published by Feygin, Savchenko responded that she fully trusts her lawyers and supports their line of defense. She asked him “not to stick his nose into her business,” and noted that Vovk has no moral right to say it because he cannot and does not want to protect her and prevents others from doing so.