Nadiya Savchenko, Ukraine’s first female combat pilot, spent almost two years behind bars in Russia after being captured by pro-Russian separatist militants in June 2014 amid a bloody conflict in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in southeastern Ukraine. Analysts predict a bright political future for Savchenko amid Ukraine’s deepening political and economic crisis. Before becoming a helicopter pilot, Savchenko joined the Ukrainian military and volunteered to serve in Iraq as part of Ukraine’s peacekeeping mission. She denied the charges and insisted she was kidnapped and forcibly taken to Russia shortly before the journalists were killed. Western governments had repeatedly urged Russia to free Savchenko, and a top European Union official congratulated Ukraine upon her release.

Source: Los Angeles Times May 25, 2016 12:22 UTC