You're reading: Tymoshenko begs pilot Savchenko to end hunger strike

The leader of the Batkivschyna All-Ukrainian Union Yulia Tymoshenko has begged Ukrainian pilot and MP Nadia Savchenko to end her hunger strike, which she began while being held at a pre-trial detention facility in Moscow. 

“Today is the 22nd day since Nadia Savchenko went on a hunger strike in a Russian prison. That’s why I’m begging you [addressing Savchenko] to stop your hunger strike. The enemy wants us to be weak. But Ukraine will certainly score a victory, and you must share this victory with your people,” reads a statement from Tymoshenko, which Batkivschyna’s press service released on Monday.

The parliamentarian also addressed the leaders of states involved in talks on settling the crisis in Ukraine, as well as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, to not postpone the issue of Savchenko’s release until the talks in Astana, which begin on January 15.

Tymoshenko also called on the leaders of EU member states to support the prompt release of the pilot “as from January 26 Savchenko will acquire PACE member status.”