The lawyers of jailed Ukrainian pilot and parliament member Nadia Savchenko said on July 28 that they have proof she was already captive when the two Russian journalists she is accused of killing died in shelling.

Savchenko is accused of direct participation in the killing of two Russian reporters who died last year while covering the conflict in Ukraine. She has also been charged with attempted murder and illegally entering Russian territory.

Preliminary hearings are scheduled for July 30 in Russia's Rostov region.

Savchenko’s lawyer Ilya Novikov said at a news conference in Kyiv that he had phone billing data that shows she was already the prisoner for pro-Russian separatists when the journalists were killed.

However, he expressed doubt about the fairness of her trial.

Savchenko says she was illegally brought into Russia after being abducted by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Based on reporting by Reuters