West Turns Blind Eye to Arrest of Ukrainian Lawmaker Savchenko

Corruption is Everywhere - Certainly in the Ukrainian Politics

and Western Media?

Savchenko’s arrest and detention in Russia had been subject to intense scrutiny by the Western media, but her recent arrest in Ukraine went almost unnoticed in the West, Maria Zakharova said

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Tuesday expressed her concern about the lack of international reaction to the arrest of Ukrainian lawmaker Nadezhda Savchenko.

"Does anyone in the world still remember Savchenko?" Zakharova asked rhetorically during the "60 minutes" show on Russia’s Rossiya-1 TV.

Savchenko, a former Ukrainian military pilot who had taken an active part in Kiev’s military operation in eastern Ukraine, was detained in Russia in June 2014. She had been sentenced to 22 years in jail over complicity in the killing of two Russian journalists in east Ukraine. She spent nearly two years in Russian custody and was pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 25, 2016. 

Upon her return to Kiev, Savchenko began an active political career as a member of the Ukrainian parliament. However, she fell into disfavor of Ukraine’s authorities after her private trips to the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics in eastern Ukraine and talks with their leadership.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Savchenko’s arrest and detention in Russia had been subject to intense scrutiny by the Western media. However, her recent arrest in Ukraine went almost unnoticed in the West.

"Right now, Savchenko is in prison again. And, again, she is on a hunger strike. The charges <…> that had been laid against her are totally absurd," Zakharova said.

"I will reveal a secret to you about how Western politicians describe Savchenko in unofficial talk. The people, who used to talk about her as a hero, a fighter woman… now describe her as a mad person," she added.

Ukrainian investigators claim that Savchenko plotted to carry out terrorist attacks in the parliament building and in the government district. If found guilty, she may face more than five years in prison. 

The Verkhovna Rada (parliament) stripped Savchenko of her parliamentary immunity and granted the go-ahead to detain and arrest her. A Kiev court put Savchenko into custody for two months on March 23, prompting her to declare a hunger strike. The court later rejected her appeal against the arrest and extended it for another two months.