Technically Savchenko will remain in jail for 20 years and 4 months as she has already spent almost two years in a detention facility.
The judge was unable to finish reading the verdict: Savchenko began singing a Ukrainian song during the announcement, expressing her denial of the whole situation.
Judge: #Savchenko's guilt in murdering two #Russian journalists confirmed by testimonies from a number of witnesses.
— Murad Gazdiev (@MuradoRT) 22 March 2016
The court ruled that Nadezhda Savchenko is not eligible for a pardon for at least 12 years — until 2028. The Ukrainian pilot was detained in July 2014, and charged with complicity in the deaths of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine, and for illegally crossing the border.
During the trial, the defendant dismissed the charges against her as "nonsense and lies" and declared her innocence. Savchenko's attorneys said they were not going to appeal against the court's ruling.
Savchenko is an officer of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to the investigation into her case, during combat operations near Ukraine's eastern city of Luhansk in June 2014, Savchenko joined the Aidar Battalion.
