KIEV, Ukraine — Russia freed Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko on Wednesday after holding her for nearly two years, with President Vladimir Putin pardoning her as part of a swap for two Russian servicemen jailed in Ukraine. They were tried in a Kyiv court, which sentenced them to 14 years in prison after finding them guilty of terrorism and waging war in eastern Ukraine. Her refusal to bend after nearly two years in Russian custody has made her a national hero in Ukraine. The Ukrainian president sent his plane to pick up Savchenko in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia and bring her home to Kyiv, where she received a hero’s welcome. Once her trial and that of the captured Russians had run their course, Putin and Poroshenko made a deal.

Source: National Post May 25, 2016 08:56 UTC