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By RFE/RL
A Moscow court is due to rule on February 10 whether to extend the pretrial detention of Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko, who is on Day 60 of a hunger strike.
Russia's Investigative Committee has requested that Savchenko's period in custody be extended through May 13.
Savchenko was captured by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in June and transferred to Russian custody in July.
Russian prosecutors have charged her with involvement in the deaths of two Russian journalists who were killed while covering the war in eastern Ukraine.
ALSO READ: ANATOMY OF A HUNGER STRIKE
Savchenko began her hunger strike on December 13 to protest her incarceration by Russian authorities.
She says the case against her is fabricated, her transfer to Russia was illegal, and that Russia has no right to prosecute her.
Savchenko was transferred to the hospital ward at Moscow's notorious Matrosskaya Tishina detention center on January 29 because of what medical personnel described as "abrupt weight loss."
Fourteen European Union foreign ministers on February 9 launched a plea for Russia to free Savchenko.
The group gathered for a photo on the margins of an EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, holding signs featuring a photo of Savchenko, the Ukrainian flag, the social media slogan #FreeSavchenko and the message: "We call the Russian authorities to free illegally abducted Ukrainian pilot."
The initiative, organized by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, also featured ministers from Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Romania, and Sweden, along with France's ambassador to the European Union.
On February 4, U.S. State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said Savchenko's life “hangs in the balance."
Psaki called Savchenko “a hostage to Russian authorities” and said Washington demands her immediate release in accordance with the commitments Russia made under an agreement signed in Minsk in September.
Savchenko was elected to the Ukrainian parliament in October while in Russian detention.
With additional reporting by Interfax, Reuters, AP, dpa, and AFP
By RFE/RL
U.S. President Barack Obama says he is looking into the option of sending lethal defensive weapons to Kyiv "if diplomacy fails" to end the crisis in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels are fighting government troops.
Obama, speaking after talks in Washington with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on February 9, said he hoped that a diplomatic solution is still possible, but that it is clear Russia has violated its commitments on Ukraine.
Merkel traveled to Washington February 9 to discuss with Obama the French-German efforts to revive last year's Minsk peace agreement, which collapsed amid intensified fighting in eastern Ukraine.
"It's clear that they violated just about every commitment they made in the Minsk agreement, instead of withdrawing from eastern Ukraine, Russian forces continued to operate there, training separatists and helping to coordinate attacks, instead of withdrawing its arms Russia has sent in more tanks and armored personnel carriers and heavy artillery," said Obama.
Merkel, who has repeately made made clear she opposes supplying Kyiv with lethal arms, admitted diplomatic efforts were largely unsuccessful, but said that they would continue.
"I've always said that I don't see a military solution to this conflict but we have to put all our efforts into bringing about a diplomatic solution," Merkel said.