Ukrainians rally to demand Russian Federation release Savchenko, attack embassy

A series of rallies demanding release of a Ukrainian woman pilot, Nadezhda Savchenko, who has been held in custody in Russia since July 2014 on charges of the murder of Russian journalists, were held across Ukraine on Sunday.

Ms Savchenko is on trial in Russian Federation after being captured in 2014 fighting with Ukrainian volunteers.

She is accused of involvement in the deaths of two Russian journalists.

Up to 200 people carrying posters and Ukrainian flags came to the Russia Embassy to Ukraine in Kyiv to demand the release of Nadia Savchenko and other political prisoners.

Savchenko declared a hunger strike on Thursday after the judge adjourned the trial for a week without allowing her to give her final statement.

Police have described the case as hooliganism and are investigating.

Ukrainian airforce helicopter navigator Nadiya Savchenko sits in the defendant's cage during her ...

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Her supporters are concerned that by refusing to drink water she may damage her health irreparably or not live long enough to attend the next hearing set for Wednesday.

Ms Savchenko has become a heroine in Ukraine and is seen as a symbol of the country's resistance against Russian Federation.

At Sunday's gathering on Maidan square, some demonstrators held up the pilot's portrait, while others carried placards reading "Free Savchenko".

He said she was being constantly monitored and there was no need to force-feed her.

Savchenko's lawyer, Nikolai Polozov, posted on Facebook that his client is in "satisfactory condition" and is not being forcibly fed or hydrated. Her sister, Vera Savchenko, said at the rally they are monitoring her condition. Known in Russian Federation as a "dry hunger strike", refusing both food and water was a method of last resort for Soviet dissidents under the communist regime.

The U.S. State Department, meanwhile, recently called for Savchenko to be released immediately.