Reports: Savchenko Being Swapped For Russian Prisoners
Unconfirmed reports say Ukraine has pardoned two Russian prisoners to be swapped for jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko.
The two Russians are flying to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on May 25 on the Ukrainian president's plane for the exchange, Interfax news agency quoted a source as saying.
"Unofficial information that I possess indicates that there will be the pardon and exchange today," said Oksana Sokolovska, lawyer for one of the Russians.
Asked if the exchange was now under way, a source close to the arrangements told the Reuters news agency, "Yes."
Russia sentenced Savchenko to 22 years in jail in March after she was found guilty of involvement in the killing of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine.
The pilot has denied any involvement in the incident and says she was abducted and illegally brought to Russia.
Ukraine sentenced the two Russian citizens -- Aleksandr Aleksandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev -- to 14 years in prison each on charges of fighting alongside Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine’s east.
Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax
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Unconfirmed reports say Ukraine has pardoned two Russian prisoners to be swapped for jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko. The two Russians are flying to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on May 25 with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for the exchange, Interfax news agency quoted a source as saying. (Reuters, Interfax)