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Putin has no reaction to Ukraine parliament's appeals and prospects of sanctions — Kremlin

The Ukrainian parliament urged Putin to contribute to prisoner exchange in the conflict-hit Donbas region and the release of Ukrainian ex-pilot Nadezhda Savchenko and film director Oleg Sentsov

MOSCOW, April 22 /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has had no reaction to Ukrainian parliament’s appeal on prisoner exchanges and recommendations to Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council to impose sanctions against the Russian leader, the Kremlin press service reported.

"No," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied curtly when asked whether Putin had reacted to the two appeals adopted on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) on Wednesday urged the Russian president to contribute to the prisoner exchange in the conflict-stricken Donbas region and the release of Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, who is currently in custody in Russia, and film director Oleg Sentsov.

Concurrently, the Ukrainian parliament recommended Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council to impose personal sanctions against 35 Russian nationals, including President Vladimir Putin, who are b elieved to be linked to the detention of Nadezhda Savchenko and her illegal placement into custody.

Savchenko is being accused of complicity to the killing of two Russian journalists near the city of Lugansk in eastern Ukraine last summer and illegal trespassing of the Russian border. The period of investigation has been extended till May 13. While in custody, Savchenko has gone on hunger strike several times.

Apart from Putin, the Verkhovna Rada’s sanctions list also includes First Deputy Presidential Administration Chief Vyacheslav Volodin; presidential adviser Vladislav Surkov; Russian State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin; Russian Federal Security Service Director Alexander Bastrykin as well as a number of Russian deputies, investigators, prosecutors, judges and representatives of other agencies.