Potentially quite a big story here: Meduza has interviewed a Ukraine separatist who claims to have been involved in the capture of jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko (pictured):
He goes by the military nickname “Ilim.” A fighter for the Luhansk People's Republic, he says he is the one who personally captured Nadiya Savchenko, the Ukrainian soldier convicted earlier this month of murder and sentenced to 22 years in prison by a Russian court. In an interview with Meduza's special correspondent Ilya Azar, “Ilim” confirmed the main argument Savchenko's lawyers say proves her innocence: she was captured before noon on June 17, 2014—before the shelling of Metalist, a village outside Luhansk, which killed two Russian journalists from the media outletVGTRK. These deaths (as well as charges of crossing into Russia illegally) were precisely why a Russian court in Rostov put Savchenko on trial. Ilim also says he's sure that Savchenko headed a sniper unit and acted as a spotter for Ukrainian artillery fire at Metalist. (Ilya Novikov, one of Savchenko's lawyers, however, says this claim is no more than a “legend.”) Ilim wasn't invited to testify at Savchenko's trial. In his place, the court heard from two “militia” combatants: Dmitry “Snipe” Oslovsky (who investigators say participated in Savchenko's detention) and Sergei “Cap” Moiseev (who allegedly brought her to Luhansk). These men told the court that Savchenko was apprehended only after the killing of the two Russian journalists.
Ilim says he didn't hide from investigators; the court simply never called him. Before speaking to Meduza, he says he never even gave a single interview during the entire conflict in eastern Ukraine. There's almost no information available about Ilim on the Internet. According to the Kiev-based project “Peacemaker,” which maintains records of all the individuals serving in the “militias” of the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics (the LNR and DNR), “Ilim” is really a Ukrainian citizen named Andrei Tikhonov—the deputy commander of a detached commandant regiment. Ilim calls himself a lieutenant colonel and a soldier in the LNR.
Read the entire article here
Hmmm, U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump is upbeat about Ukraine:
Ukraine's independent MPs boost chances of ending deadlock
KIEV, March 30 (Reuters) -- Several non-aligned Ukrainian lawmakers have agreed to join Ukraine's biggest faction to help end a political crisis that is stalling Western-backed reforms and vital international financial aid, deputies said on Wednesday.
Lawmakers are under pressure to end a deadlock that threatens snap parliamentary elections and has delayed disbursement of $1.7 billion in loans from the International Monetary Fund to help the war-torn economy.
Since mid-February, attempts to form a multi-party coalition with smaller populist or reformist factions have gone nowhere, prompting President Petro Poroshenko's 'BPP' political bloc to appeal to independent MPs.
"Talks are going on at the moment with several non-faction deputies - we've invited them to join our faction," , BPP's Oleksiy Goncharenko told journalists. "There are several applications (to sign up) already."
"There are lots of deputies who don't want snap elections, because they know nothing good would come of it, because it would risk their seat and therefore they're prepared to help," he said.
According to the parliamentary website, the BPP and the People's Front of Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk together have 219 lawmakers, only seven fewer than the number needed to form a coalition and appoint a new government.
Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Groysman, a 38-year-old former mayor and ally of Poroshenko, has been put forward as a replacement prime minister, but Yatseniuk has refused to step down until a new coalition agreement is signed.
"We need to recruit only a few of the 50 independent deputies. The formal creation of a coalition would allow Groysman to be approved, but after that we would need to focus on building up the coalition further," BPP lawmaker Andriy Vadatursky told Reuters.
Groysman has said as prime minister he would want Ukraine to stick to its reform promises under a $40 billion bailout programme backed by the International Monetary Fund, but his government would need the support of parliament to pass laws.
Lawmaker Irina Suslova said she had agreed to join BPP for the sake of forming a coalition but would not necessarily vote along party lines in parliament.
"My conditions were the following: if I have my own opinion, I will vote as I see fit," she told journalists.
Lukashenka: Crisis In Ukraine's East Cannot Be Solved Without U.S.
Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka says the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine cannot be solved without U.S. involvement.
Lukashenka made the comment during a meeting in Minsk on March 30 with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Carpenter.
Lukashenka said "if the United States wants to end the war in eastern Ukraine tomorrow and takes a few steps in that direction, the ‘meat grinder’ there will come to a halt."
He called the United States "the world's leading country with which every nation cooperates."
Lukashenka also hailed what he called improved ties between Minsk and the West, saying relations had entered a “new phase.”
In February, the European Union ended five years of sanctions against Belarus and Lukashenka, praising the Belarusian leader for the release of political prisoners in August 2015 and for Minsk's role in hosting international talks on curtailing the fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Based on reporting by BelTA and Interfax
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
