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Nadejda SavchenkoServicewoman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Senior Lieutenant
Date of Birth: 11.05.1981
Country:  Ukraine |
Content:
- Early Life
- Military Career
- Air Force Service and the Donbas Conflict
- Captivity and Charges
- Political Prominence and International Recognition
- Trial in Russia
Early Life
Born in May 1981, Nadia Savchenko's childhood dream was to pilot combat aircraft. However, her education took a different turn as she studied fashion design and then journalism at the National University in Kyiv.
Military Career
In her early 20s, Savchenko joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a contract soldier. Her military journey began with radionavigation in the railway troops, later transitioning to the 95th Airmobile Brigade in Zhytomyr. In the mid-2000s, she served as a peacekeeper in Iraq.
Air Force Service and the Donbas Conflict
After her Iraq mission, Savchenko was enrolled in the Air Force University in Kharkiv, graduating as a navigator in 2009. She then joined the aviation regiment based in Brody. Notably, she remained enlisted in the Ukrainian Armed Forces throughout her involvement in the Donbas conflict.
Captivity and Charges
During the Donbas conflict, Savchenko fought alongside the 'Aydar' battalion and was captured by Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) militants on June 18-19, 2014. A video emerged showing her confessing to killing volunteer fighters as a spotter. Later, she was transported to Donetsk and accused by the Russian Investigative Committee of aiding the murder of two VGTRK journalists on July 9.
Political Prominence and International Recognition
Savchenko's saga unfolded as she became a high-profile political prisoner. The 'Batkivshchyna' party listed her as a candidate for the Verkhovna Rada, and after her election in November 2014, she was dismissed from the Armed Forces. In 2015, 'Novaya Gazeta' initiated a letter urging her release, and President Poroshenko awarded her the title of Hero of Ukraine.
Trial in Russia
Her trial in Russia began but was later suspended, with the court deliberating on its venue. Savchenko wrote a will and appealed to the UN Secretary-General to oversee her judicial process. Ukraine also requested the transfer of her case to Moscow.
