Here's a rather moving video from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service:
Ukrainian military veteran Ivan Zaluzhniy has witnessed the tragedies of two wars separated by seven decades. He served in the Soviet Red Army and fought in Stalingrad during the deadliest battle of World War II. In August 2014, Zaluzhniy's grandson, also a soldier, was killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine. Zaluzhniy spoke with RFE/RL's Iryna Shtogrin on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and made an emotional plea for peace.
From our news desk:
An independent Russian newspaper has published what it said was a report by Russian military engineers suggesting a Malaysian airliner shot down in Ukraine was hit by a Russian-made surface-to-air BUK missile fired by Ukrainian forces.
Novaya Gazeta said on May 6 that the report did not prove whether Ukrainian forces or the pro-Moscow rebels they are fighting had shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 on July 17, killing all 298 people aboard.
Each side in the conflict in eastern Ukraine accuses the other of bringing down the plane, on which two-thirds of the victims were Dutch.
Dutch prosecutors say the "leading scenario" in their probe is that MH17 was hit by a BUK missile and are testing the theory it was fired from a separatist-held area.
Russian officials initially said the plane was hit by a Ukrainian fighter jet.
Kyiv has dismissed Russian allegations that its forces shot down the airliner.
(Reuters, novayagazeta.ru)
Here's a Savchenko update from our news desk:
A court in Moscow on May 6 extended the pre-trial detention of Ukrainian pilot and parliament member Nadia Savchenko until June 30.
The announcement was made on Twitter by her lawyer, Nikolai Polozov..
The hearing came a day after Savchenko's lawyer announced that Russian authorities have extended their preliminary inquiry into Savchenko’s case until November 13.
Savchenko has been jailed in Russia since July, when she says she was illegally brought into the country after being abducted by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
She is charged with complicity in the killing of two Russian journalists who died in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, as well as illegal border crossing.
She denies guilt and conducted a hunger strike for more than 80 days to protest her incarceration.
The United States said on May 5 that it is concerned over the "callous and outrageous" treatment of Savchenko by Russian authorities, and called for her immediate release.
(Reuters, AP, dpa, TASS)