A Ukrainian pilot who has been refusing food while on trial in Russia has threatened to go on full hunger strike unless she is extradited back home after the verdict.

Nadia Savchenko’s sister (Vira Savchenko) said on March 1 that if she was not returned home within 10 days after the ruling, she would start refusing to drink.

Closing arguments in Savchenko's trial are due to begin on March 2 and a verdict is expected soon after.

She is accused of involvement in the deaths of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine.

Savchenko was fighting in a volunteer battalion against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine when she was captured in June 2014.

She has accused the separatists of kidnapping her and taking her into Russia where she was jailed and charged.

Kyiv says the charges against her are trumped up and that she should be treated as a prisoner of war.

Based on reporting by AP and uatoday.tv



