Ukrainian news sites report that on her third day after returning to Ukraine from illegal imprisonment in Putin’s Russia, Nadiya Savchenko visited the cemetery where some of her friends killed in combat defending Ukraine from the Russian aggression are laid to rest. Later in the day she had a meeting with President Poroshenko.
Savchenko’s sister Vira posted a short post with several photographs from the cemetery visit. In it she said: “We came to our friends. And it started to rain … The heavens are crying. Nadiya asked me whether I have a feeling that they all are standing [around us]..?
“#LifeForFatherlandButHonorForNoone
“We Will Live!”
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=232195530493280&id=100011085030149
Later in the day she met with the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko. Poroshenko conveyed to her warm greetings from US Vice President Joseph Biden and the President of the European Parliament Martin Schultz. He emphasized that public activism in the United States and European countries demanding to liberate the Ukrainian political prisoner had a significant impact on attaining her freedom.
The president thanked Savchenko for her steadfast public support of the Minsk Agreement, which the Ukrainian government supports, to which she replied that she was able to follow attentively the negotiations in Minsk in February 2015: “I am grateful to you for having made them.”
They also discussed the Savchenko-Sentsov List for sanctions and coordinated joint actions to accelerate the release of other Ukrainian prisoners.
Interestingly, President Poroshenko also “coordinated with N. Savchenko the perspectives of presenting of Ukrainian position” in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in the European Parliament. It will the first assembly that Savchenko will be attending since she became an elected PACE deputy while in Russian prison.
When she was asked by Poroshenko whether she is ready to work on international issues, Savchenko responded: “I am ready to work. My wish depends on wishes of Ukraine. Because now you are the one who implements them, I am ready to work wherever you tell me.”
The president proposed to Nadiya that she visit several European countries and meet with their leaders.
They concluded their meeting by discussing the situation on the frontline with Russian hybrid forces, the increase in Russian artillery attacks and the death of Andriy Zhuk, the battalion commander of the 72nd Brigade.
Related:
- Savchenko’s release signals Putin’s fall to Earth
- Savchenko free, Russians furious and confused
- “We will live a dignified life in Ukraine as it should be” – Savchenko’s first words at home
- 46 MEPs demand that Putin immediately release Nadiya Savchenko
- Meet the man who organized 72 rallies in support of Nadiya Savchenko | #FormulaOfAction
