STOCKHOLM (Sputnik) – "As a demonstration of our support, our Embassy in Moscow is following Ms Savchenko's trial in the court room, and we encourage others to do the same. I stressed the efforts being undertaken by Sweden and the EU for the release of Savchenko when I met her sister Vira this fall in Kiev and New York," Wallstrom said in a Friday statement.
According to the foreign minister, Sweden has called on Russia to release Savchenko on numerous occasions, both on the bilateral level and through EU channels.
Savchenko is suspected of helping to direct artillery fire near the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on June 17, 2014, that led to the deaths of two Russian journalists, Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin.
Russian prosecutors are seeking a 23-year prison sentence for Savchenko. The 34-year-old Ukrainian citizen denies all the allegations. A court ruling in the case is expected to be announced on March 21-22.
