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Savchenko: Ukraine Needs Early Parliamentary Elections
Ukrainian military aviator Nadia Savchenko, who was sworn in as a lawmaker in May, says Ukraine needs early parliamentary elections to bring "fresh blood" into the country’s politics.
In an interview with the Associated Press on June 10, Savchenko said the "Ukrainian people deserve a better government than they now have."
Savchenko said the government in Kyiv has failed to live up to public expectations raised by the ouster of Ukraine's former pro-Russian government in February 2014.
Savchenko spent nearly two years in Russian captivity before she was released in May and returned to a hero's welcome in Ukraine.She was elected to parliament in 2014 while in custody.
On June 7, Savchenko said she was willing to talk with Russia-backed separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine to try to end the nation's two-year-old conflict.
Savchenko told Ukrainian media that she believes direct peace talks with separatist leaders would be more effective than the current, unproductive talks that have included Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany.
Based on reporting by AP, Interfax, and TASS
Ukrainian Jailed In Crimea Over Euromaidan 'Murder' Charge
A 23-year-old Ukrainian who says he was tortured has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted murder by a court in Russia-annexed Crimea.
The court in Simferopol on June 10 said Andriy Kolomiyet had thrown a Molotov cocktail at two former Ukrainian Berkut riot police during the pro-Western Euromaidan protests in Kyiv in January 2014.
Kolomiyets was arrested in Russia’s North Caucasus region in May 2015 and transported to Crimea, where he has been held in custody ever since.
Kolomiyets has said he was tortured into confessing to taking part in extremist Ukrainian organizations during protests in Kyiv in 2014 that led to the ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Human rights activists in Ukraine have described the charges against Kolomiyets as absurd.