MOSCOW, April 11. /TASS/. Convicted Ukrainian former pilot Nadezhda Savchenko has agreed to be examined by doctors and to receive the supporting therapy, the federal prison authority told TASS on Monday.
After a medical examination on Sunday, Savchenko’s health was assessed "as stable and satisfactory," the Federal Penitentiary Service said, adding that all the necessary medical tests have been carried out.
Doctors are also expected to visit Savchenko later in the day.
The head of a public supervisory committee in the Rostov Region, in southern Russia, Leonid Petrashis, also confirmed that Savchenko’s health was satisfactory as of Monday morning.
In late March, a court in southern Russia found Savchenko guilty of directing the pro-Kiev forces’ artillery fire in Ukraine's south-east that had killed Russian journalists. The judge also said she illegally crossed the Russian border.
Savchenko denied any wrongdoing and didn’t recognize the Russian court’s verdict. However, the Ukrainian said she would not appeal the sentence that officially came into force on April 5. The day after, Savchenko declared her "dry" hunger strike meaning that she refuses both food and water.
She has declared several hunger strikes during her nearly two years in Russian custody. Last time, Savchenko announced a "dry" hunger strike on March 3. The move came in protest as the Russian court delayed the decision in her case.
Currently, Savchenko is being kept in a detention center in Novocherkassk, southern Russia, and so far it is not known where she will be transferred to serve her sentence. Under the Russian law, this should be announced no later than 10 days after the administration of the pretrial detention center is informed that the sentence enters into force.
Savchenko’s lawyers say that the Ukrainian authorities are taking efforts to have her transferred to Ukraine. They don’t rule out she could be swapped for Russian citizens convicted in Ukraine.