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Captured Ukrainian Pilot Savchenko Declares Hunger Strike

Ukrainian military pilot Nadezhda Savchenko

The Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko declared a dry hunger strike after a court deprived her of a chance to make a final closing statement during a hearing on Thursday, the Interfax news agency reported, citing a report from the courtroom.

"If I am not allowed to have the last word, I will start a dry hunger strike tomorrow," Savchenko claimed, Interfax reported.

The next hearing of the trial is scheduled for March 9.

Savchenko — currently on trial in the city of Donetsk in Russia's southern Rostov region — is charged with several crimes, including the murder of Russian journalists, and faces 23 years in a prison colony if convicted, the Mediazone news website reported Wednesday.

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