[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 52 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 52

 Calling for the release of Ukrainian fighter pilot Nadiya Savchenko, 
who was captured by Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine and has been held 
             illegally in a Russian prison since July 2014.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 28, 2015

    Mr. Cardin (for himself and Mr. Wicker) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Calling for the release of Ukrainian fighter pilot Nadiya Savchenko, 
who was captured by Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine and has been held 
             illegally in a Russian prison since July 2014.

Whereas Nadiya Savchenko is the first-ever female fighter pilot in Ukraine's 
        Armed Forces and is an Iraqi war veteran;
Whereas, in the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine, Nadiya Savchenko 
        volunteered her services to the Ukrainian Aidar battalion;
Whereas Nadiya Savchenko was elected in absentia from the Batkivshchyna Party to 
        Ukraine's Parliament in October 2014, and appointed to the Parliament 
        Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) as a representative from 
        Ukraine;
Whereas, as a member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant Nadiya Savchenko 
        was conducting operations in eastern Ukraine against pro-Russian forces 
        in the summer of 2014 when she was captured and taken into captivity;
Whereas, during her mission in Eastern Ukraine, she was captured by the Donbas 
        People's Militia, detained on Ukrainian territory, deprived of rights to 
        due process, and illegally transferred to the Russian Federation to 
        stand trial on unsubstantiated charges of terrorism;
Whereas, since July 2014, Nadiya Savchenko has endured involuntary psychiatric 
        evaluations and solitary confinement;
Whereas Nadiya Savchenko is currently entering her sixth week of a hunger strike 
        as a symbol of her protest;
Whereas Nadiya Savchenko is denied access to urgently needed medical attention 
        and access to legal counsel;
Whereas the Minsk Protocol of September 2014, signed by Ukraine and the Russian 
        Federation, calls for the ``immediate release of all hostages and 
        illegally held persons'';
Whereas appeals have been made to the United Nations Human Rights Council and 
        the International Red Cross to secure Nadiya Savchenko's release;
Whereas the international community, including representatives of the 
        Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and of the United 
        States, have urged her immediate release;
Whereas, on January 26, 2015, the opening day of the Parliamentary Assembly, the 
        global community embarks on a public campaign to bring attention to the 
        plight of Nadiya Savchenko and demand her immediate release; and
Whereas the Government and people of the United States express concern about the 
        deteriorating health of detained pilot Nadiya Savchenko and her 
        continued illegal imprisonment: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the Government of the Russian Federation for 
        its illegal imprisonment of Nadiya Savchenko;
            (2) calls on the Government of the Russian Federation to 
        immediately release Nadiya Savchenko;
            (3) calls on the United States, its European allies, and 
        the international community to aggressively support efforts to 
        release Nadiya Savchenko and other illegally detained persons; 
        and
            (4) expresses solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
                                 <all>