Ukrainian pilot Savchenko vows to continue refusing food, water

DONETSK, Russia: Ukrainian military pilot Nadiya Savchenko, on trial in a high profile case over the killing of two Russian journalists, told a Russian court Wednesday she would continue refusing food and water.
"I will continue my dry hunger strike if it takes more than a week to issue the judgement," a feverish Savchenko said in her final address to the court after raising her middle finger in a defiant gesture at the judge and prosecution.
"Maybe I will live that long."
Savchenko, 34, announced a hunger strike last Thursday, rejecting both food and water, after the judge unexpectedly postponed her final address in the trial over her alleged involvement in the 2014 killing of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine.
Refusing both food and water is known in Russia as a "dry hunger strike" and was a method of last resort for some Soviet dissidents under Communism.
The judge in the court in the Russian town of Donetsk said the verdict will be handed down on March 21 and 22.
Kiev on Wednesday demanded an end to the "farcical" trial and that she be released immediately.
One of her lawyers, Nikolai Polozov, said Savchenko's health had significantly deteriorated over the past few days, adding that she was feverish and her temperature had risen to about 38°C.
"Remember — we are playing with my life. And I will win," Savchenko said. "The stakes are high and I have nothing to lose."
Her lawyers said they would not be able to persuade Savchenko to halt her hunger strike unless the Russian authorities release her or at least guarantee her freedom.
Two journalists from Russian public broadcaster VGTRK died in shelling in June 2014 in Ukraine's eastern Lugansk region.
Prosecutors say Savchenko was involved in the killing in her capacity as a volunteer in a Ukrainian battalion.
She denies the charges and says she was kidnapped and smuggled across the border into Russia.
Savchenko has been elected in absentia to Ukraine's parliament since being held in Russia.
Savchenko has fasted before to protest the accusations against her but has never before refused both food and water. — AFP