Fate of Nadiya Savchenko, jailed Ukrainian air force pilot, in hands of Kremlin, say lawyers

Nadiya Savchenko istestifyingtoday in a case thathas become a potent symbol in the war between Ukraine and pro-Russia separatist rebels.

Russian investigators have charged the Ukrainian air force pilot with complicityin the 2014 deaths of two Russian journalists, which she denies.

"I am a soldier,"she told the court inDonetsk, Russia,Monday. "You are treating me like a murderer."

The 34-year-old lieutenant testified for more than fourhours, much of it a monologue about her military history andher movements on June 17, 2014,the dayof the fatal mortar attack.

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"I ask that you listen to me carefully, don't interrupt me and don't shut me up, because each of my words will have significance for this court," she said, addressing the judge.

"Every single word I speak here will be the truth. I am again asking for a lie detector test that will be further proof of my truth,but you will again refuse me this."

There were few interruptions from her legal team during her testimonyand almost no questions from the prosecutors. This was her stage:a glass cage with open slats that she spoke through.

Phone records key to timeline

Savchenko's lawyers areexpected to introduceevidence thatmobile-phone monitoring by Ukraine's special forces picked up conversationsfrom pro-Russiaseparatistson the day of the attack,at10:46 a.m.,reporting that they had captured a female sniper.

TVjournalists AntonVoloshinand IgorKornelyukwere killed later that morning, closer tonoon,nearLuhansk, easternUkraine. Therefore,Savchenko's lawyers argue, she couldn't have been involved in co-ordinating the mortar attack as she was already in the hands of the rebels.

Still, despite what they think is solid proof that Savchenko was not involved, her lawyers,two of whom defended thepunk rock bandPussy Riotagainst charges stemming from theirperformance ofasong critical ofRussian PresidentVladimir Putin, do not expect her to get a fair trial.

'ThisDonetskcourt, it has no power to acquitSavchenko.This decision will be taken by the Kremlin.'- MarkFeygin, attorney for Nadiya Savchenko

"This Donetsk court, it has no power to acquit Savchenko," said attorneyMark Feygin outside court Monday. "They don't have that power, and no one will give them that power even in front of all the evidence that she is innocent.

"This decision will be taken by the Kremlin, and the Kremlin will decide what is in their political interests and not for justice in their court of law and fairness, which is supposed to exists in these places."

Savchenk also strongly voiced her opposition to the judicial processthat will determine her fate.

"Idon't believe you have a right to try me and certainly not in a Russian court. This court is criminal," she said during her testimony Monday.

Thetrial is taking place1,000 kilometresfrom Moscow, which Savchenko'slawyers say isproofthat Russian authorities want her case kept out of the public eye, even thought it will be Moscow who makes the ultimate decision, saidIlya Novikov, a member of Savchenko's legal team.

"Here in Russia, we like show trials. [It's]almost a tradition since Stalin's era," Novikov said. "This verdict is notto be written by the judges. It's already [been]written in Moscow."

'I see my sister. I don't see the cage.- Vera Savchenko

But on Monday,Russian and Ukrainian media as well as CBC were given access to theproceedings and were allowed to film Savchenko and her lawyers, although not the prosecutors or the judge. Four balaclava-clad,armed,Russian special forces officerskept a close eye on the media.

Throughout her various court hearings and trial appearances over the18 months that she has been detained,Savchenko has often worn traditional Ukrainian blouses in a gesture of defiance and she did so again onMonday.

Her sister, Vera, drove the 900 kilometres from Kyiv to attend the trial.

"I see my sister.I don't see the cage,"she said outside the court."No matter how hard the Russian Federation tries to push their propaganda, the truth will ultimately come out. That brings me calm watching over Nadiya."

The families of thetwoRussian journalists did not attendMonday's proceedings.

7th week of 2nd hunger strike

Savchenko hasbeenvocal in court in the past,yelling "Lies!"at the prosecutors.That fiery spirit is probably what haskept her alive. Sheis starving herself to protest what she believes is a trumped-up case thatRussia cannot lose.

Hunger is my only weapon in the fight against the outrageous actions oftheRussian authorities.- Nadiya Savchenko

In prison for a year and a half now, first in Moscow then in Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia, Savchenko is in the seventh week of a hunger strike,taking only fluids.Her first hunger strike last winter in Moscownearly killed her.

"Hunger is my only weapon in the fight against the outrageous actions ofthe Russian authorities,"she said in a letterreleased by her lawyer.

Throughout her ordeal,Savchenko has been called both a"hero of Ukraine"and a "daughter of the devil" as well asplenty of other names.

Her controversial trial, which began lastJuly,resumedthis week and is taking place a mere10 kilometresfrom Russia's border with Ukraine and about 200 kilometres eastof theotherDonetsk, in eastern Ukraine,which has been at the centreof a nearly two-year-old war between pro-Russiaseparatists and the Ukrainian army.

Heated battle preceded capture

Savchenko'sjourney to the courtroom in the small Russian town of Donetskhas beenas twisted and loadedwith claims andcounterclaims as any spy novel.

She was among the protestors inMaidan,Kyiv's central square, in2013during the overthrow ofPresident Viktor Yanukovych.In the summer of 2014, she took a week'sleave from her regularjob as a helicopter navigator and pilotto helptraina volunteerbattalion fighting along with Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine.

Fighting between Ukrainian nationalists and pro-Russian separatists in the region was intense that summer. According to her lawyers, onJune 17, 2014,Savchenkowent to the aid of somewounded fighters who had been caught in an ambush. Her sister helped transportseveral of thewounded to safety inher car, leaving Nadiya behind.

When her sister returned, Savchenko was gone. Vera made several frantic calls to Savchenko's cellphhone, fearing she had been killed. Eventually, she said, a man's voice answered and said "slaughterhouse," and itwas clear to her then that Savchenkohad beencapturedby rebels.

Later, acellphone video, believed to be taken with Savchenko's phone, wasreleased by the rebels. Itshows her chained to a metal chair being interrogated.

"Who is targeting us?"asks one of therebels, repeatedly.

"All of Ukraine,"she replies cooly.

U.S., Canada condemn detention

The same day as her capture,threejournalists from Russian state broadcaster VGTRK were caught up in shellingnear Luhansk, and two of them Voloshin and Kornelyukdied. (Russian authorities allege it was a Ukrainian mortar that killed the two and that Savchenkoprovided theco-ordinates that allowed Ukrainian forces to locate the journalists.)

Savchenko'sfamily saysthat two weeks later,they discovered she had been driven across theborder to Russia.

"They put a stinky bag over her head and transported her in six different cars," Savchenko's mother, Maria, told mediain February 2015.

Moving a prisoner of war across international borders is prohibited byinternational law, but Russia contends Savchenko snuck into Russia pretending to be a refugeeand was arrested on Russian soil.

In the super-charged atmosphere of 2014, with the downing of FlightMH17 inUkraine and the finger pointing at Russia,Savchenko became a causeclbre for Ukrainians.

Activists started a "Free Savchenko" blog on Facebook. The Ukrainian activist groupVoices of Ukraine, which grew out of the Maidan protest movementand focuses on providing news aboutUkraine in English and other languages,translated Savchenko's letters from prison.

"Oneof the fronts of this war is words and propaganda, so the only way to counter it is getting the truth out there,"said Sophia Isajiw,founding editor of Voices Ukraine, speaking fromToronto.

In a recent letter, Savchenkowrote "I'm alive and free as long as Iact and Idon't sit here.Ikeep fighting."

Savchenko as symbol

A young, femalemilitary pilot is novel enough; by2015, Savchenkowas being labelled Joan of Arc, andUkrainian President Petro Poroshenkoawarded herthe country'shighest award for bravery.She was elected in absentia to Ukraine's parliament.

Her casehas garnered attentionacross Europe and North America, including in Canada.

"Canada and this house should join our American and European allies and pass a resolution demanding Nadiya's immediate return to Ukraine,"said then Liberal MP Chrystia Freeland, whois now minister of international trade.

The U.S. State Department similarly called on Russia to drop what it called its"baseless case" against Savchenko.

A newceasefire agreement between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia separatistswas signed in Minsk in February 2015. In April of last year,the president of theEuropean Council, Donald Tusk, reiteratedthe need to fully implement the dealandsaid the EU expects"the urgent release of all hostages,including Nadiya Savchenko."

Nevertheless,Russia is proceeding with all charges against her. There has been talk of politicalnegotiations to secure her release, but some Russia watchers suggest no deal could be reacheduntil Russia has prosecuted a guilty verdict.