Official: Moscow could hand over imprisoned Ukrainian

MOSCOW (AP) — Moscow is open to discussing handing over to Kyiv a Ukrainian pilot charged with the murder of two journalists once there is a verdict in her trial, the Russian justice minister said on Friday, in contrast to previous statements.

Russian prosecutors claim Nadezhda Savchenko intentionally targeted journalists and civilians when Ukrainian forces attacked rebel positions in eastern Ukraine in June 2014. Savchenko, who is on trial in southern Russia, claims she had no part in the mortar attack which killed the two journalists and civilians.

Russian Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov was quoted by Russian news agencies on Friday as saying that Savchenko’s transfer to Ukraine would be possible after a verdict.

“If Savchenko is convicted and there is an agreement, we could discuss the issue of the transfer,” Konovalov said.

Russia has previously rejected suggestions that Savchenko could be handed over to Ukraine or exchanged for two captive men who Kyiv claims are Russian officers.

Savchenko, a Ukrainian pilot who served in a volunteer battalion fighting alongside government troops against Russia-backed rebels, says she was kidnapped by Russians after she was captured by the rebels in June 2014.

Russian prosecutors have denied that she was smuggled across the border. Instead, they insist that Savchenko escaped captivity in Luhansk and sneaked into Russia in order to perpetrate an act of terror.

The Ukrainian government has campaigned for Savchenko’s release, claiming that the charges against her were trumped up and that she should be treated as a prisoner of war.