MOSCOW, March 2 (RAPSI) – Prosecutor on Wednesday asked the court to sentence Ukrainian military ex-pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, who stands charged with involvement in the murder of Russian journalists and civilians in Donbas, to 23 years in penal colony, RAPSI reported from the Donetsk City Court in the Rostov Region.

Prosecutor has also asked the court to impose a 100,000-ruble ($1,350) fine on Savchenko. Additionally, time she has spent in detention may be subtracted from her potential term in a penal colony.

Maximum prison time for women in Russia estimates 25 years.

Savchenko was arrested in Russia in the summer of 2014 on charges of involvement in the murder of two Russian TV journalists during hostilities in Donbas and on illegally crossing the border into Russia.

TV correspondent Igor Kornelyuk and sound engineer Anton Voloshin were killed on June 17 in a mortar attack.

Savchenko has pleaded not guilty.

Her attorneys claim that Savchenko was framed and that there is no evidence of involvement in the journalists’ murder. They also claim she did not cross the border voluntarily but was kidnapped.