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Ukraine’s ex-pilot Savchenko sent to Moscow hospital, her health ‘satisfactory’

"Since yesterday, Savchenko has been again taking food," spokesperson Kristina Belousova said
Nadezhda Savchenko Artyom Korotayev/TASS
Nadezhda Savchenko
© Artyom Korotayev/TASS

MOSCOW, April 28. /TASS/. Nadezhda Savchenko, a former Ukrainian pilot charged with complicity in the deaths of Russian reporters, has been moved from a prison hospital to a Moscow city hospital after a three-day hunger strike, Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) said on Tuesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Savchenko was transferred to hospital number 20 where doctors will monitor her health and consider further treatment options. "The health state of Savchenko is considered as satisfactory," spokesperson Kristina Belousova told TASS.

"Since yesterday, Savchenko has been again taking food," she added.

On February 10, Moscow’s Basmanny court satisfied a motion of an investigator on extending Savchenko’s custody until May 13. Savchenko has declared hunger strike several times.

Russian investigators say that Savchenko, the gunner of a Mi-24 helicopter, joined the notorious Aidar battalion during combat operations in the much-troubled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine last June.

Noting the position of a filming crew of the Russian State Broadcasting Company and other civilians, she allegedly reported the data to mortar-equipped personnel who fired on the crew and the civilians. As a result, correspondent Igor Kornelyuk and sound engineer Anton Voloshin were killed.

Posing as a refugee, Savchenko later crossed the Russian border and was detained during a document inspection. Savchenko has been in custody in Russia since July 2014.