MOSCOW (Sputnik) – European Parliament President Martin Schulz welcomed on Wednesday the transfer of Nadezhda Savchenko, sentenced to 22 years in Russia for her part in killing Russian journalists in Donbas, to Ukraine.
"We have been waiting for Nadiya #Savchenko freedom for a long time. A good signal and news today for her family, friends and whole #Ukraine," Schulz said via Twitter.
Two Russians Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov were also transferred to Russia earlier in the day in what Moscow has called "not a prisoner swap".
Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a pardon for Ukrainian Nadezhda Savchenko serving 22 years in a Russian prison for the murder of two journalists on request of the deceased families.