Nadiya Savchenko is a Ukrainian politician and current member of the Verkhovna Rada and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Prior to serving in Parliament, Ms. Savchenko served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Iraq from 2004-2008 and then became a pilot by graduating from Air Force University in Kharkiv in 2009. While volunteering in eastern Ukraine with the Ukrainian territorial defense battalion Aydar, she was captured by pro-Russian opposition forces on June 17, 2014 and handed over to the Russian government. There, she faced a twenty-two year imprisonment sentence for a fabricated criminal case. In March 2015, President Petro Poroshenko awarded Ms. Savchenko, the title "Hero of Ukraine,” calling her a “symbol of unbroken Ukrainian spirit and heroism.” On May 22, 2016, she was released from Russian captivity during a prisoner exchange. Ms. Savchenko is in Washington to discuss her experience, as well as to raise awareness to the plight of political prisoners in Russia.  
 
We hope you can join us for this important and timely discussion.
 

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Atlantic Council
1030 15th Street NW, 12th Floor (West Tower Elevator) 
Washington, DC

This event is open to press and on the record. 

VISITING THE COUNCIL:Metro and parking info