Ukraine prosecutor accuses former war hero of parliament attack plot
UKRAINE’S top prosecutor has accused Nadiya Savchenko, a former helicopter navigator who became a national hero after being held in a Russian jail, of planning an attack on parliament.
General Prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko said on Thursday he had “irrefutable proof” that Ms Savchenko, who became a member of parliament on her return from Russia, had planned an attack using grenades, mortars and automatic weapons. The attack did not take place. Ms Savchenko could not immediately be reached for comment, and neither could her sister who has spoken for her in the past.
Mr Lutsenko said he would ask lawmakers to vote to remove Ms Savchenko’s parliamentary immunity from prosecution so that she could be arrested.
“The investigation has irrefutable proof that Nadiya Savchenko personally planned, personally recruited, personally gave instructions about how to commit a terrorist act here, in this chamber,” Mr Lutsenko said.
Ms Savchenko has experienced a rapid fall from grace since she returned to great fanfare after a prisoner exchange with Russia in May 2016.
In January 2017, lawmakers called for an investigation into what they said were her anti-Ukrainian actions after Ms Savchenko suggested Ukraine would have to relax its claim on Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, in order to win back control of its eastern Donbass region where pro-Russia rebels hold sway.
Ms Savchenko was captured on the frontline by pro-Russian separatists and held in jail in Russia on murder charges that she said were fabricated. She became a symbol of resistance against Russia to many Ukrainians.
Since her return she has held talks with the separatists without the government’s consent and published secret lists of people who were captured or are missing in the conflict.