Calling for the Release of Ukrainian Fighter Pilot Nadiya Savchenko

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, H. Res. 50, introduced by Representative LEVIN, calls for the release of former Ukrainian fighter pilot Nadiya Savchenko, who has been languishing in Russian prisons since she was abducted by pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine in 2014, and illegally transferred across the border in handcuffs and with a bag over her head.

Since she was incarcerated on specious and unsubstantiated charges, Nadiya has endured interrogations, involuntary psychiatric evaluations and solitary confinement. She spent four months on a hunger strike as a symbol of protest, ending it last April. Her trial opened today.

Nadiya is yet another victim of the Putin regime's brutality. We must recognize that this isn't just about her, but also represents a very visible manifestation of Russia's aggression towards a Ukraine that wishes to remain free, independent, and democratic. Nadiya is a symbol for the struggle of Ukraine.

Madam Speaker, Nadiya Savchenko was elected in absentia to the Ukrainian Parliament in October and was named a member of Ukraine's delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. As such, she enjoys diplomatic immunity.

With its illegal annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine, Russia has made a mockery of its international commitments, including all ten core OSCE principles enshrined in the 1975 Helsinki Final Act. Nadiya's illegal detention, along with that of other Ukrainian citizens held hostage by Moscow, represents yet another in a long list of violations of international agreements and the norms of civilized behavior.

According to the Minsk agreements between Russia along with its separatist proxies, and Ukraine, hostages are supposed to be released. Moscow needs to immediately release Nadiya and the many other hostages, including Oleg Sentsov and Oleksander Kolchenko, who were recently sentenced in a Russian court on completely baseless charges.

Madam Speaker, my amendment calls for the imposition of personal sanctions against individuals responsible for the kidnapping, arrest, and imprisonment of Nadiya Savchenko and other Ukrainian citizens illegally incarcerated in Russia.

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