MOSCOW, March 9 (RAPSI) – The Donetsk City Court in the Rostov Region has scheduled sentencing of Ukrainian military ex-pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, who stands charged with involvement in the killing of Russian journalists and civilians in Donbas, for March 21-22, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday.
Savchenko pleaded not guilty to involvement in the murder of Russian journalists again while making a final speech in court.
Savchenko is not going to appeal the sentence. She plans to declare a new hunger strike after sentencing.
Earlier, a prosecutor asked the court to sentence Savchenko to 23 years in prison and fine her 100,000 rubles ($1,400).
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.
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.