U.S. Department of State calls Russia to release Savchenko and all other Ukrainian hostages immediately

The U.S. authorities have urged Russia to liberate Ukrainian female pilot Nadia Savchenko, U.S. Department of State Spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Wednesday.

"We call on Russia to release Nadia Savchenko and all other Ukrainian hostages immediately, a commitment Russia made when it signed the Minsk agreements in September of last year," she said at a briefing in Washington.

Psaki called the pilot's custody conditions as horrific.

"Nadia has been on a hunger strike for 54 days to protest the terms of her illegal detention, and her life now hangs in the balance," Psaki stressed.

Psaki reminded that Savchenko was captured by Russian-backed separatists in June of 2014 and illegally moved across the border and handed over to Russian authorities, who have treated her in an appalling manner.

"Nadia has been forced to undergo psychiatric evaluation, solitary confinement, restricted access to a Ukrainian consular official, and isolation from her family," she added.

It was reported earlier that Savchenko, a 33-year-old pilot, was fighting with the Aidar volunteer battalion in eastern Ukraine when she was captured by militants in June near the town of Schastia, a suburb of Luhansk. It was stated on July 8 that she was being held at the Voronezh pre-trial detention facility in Russia.

On July 9, Russia indicted her for complicity in murder. Savchenko has rejected all charges. Ukraine is demanding her release.

According to several sources, Savchenko went on a hunger strike on December 13 or 15, in response to the prison's failure to provide her with medical care. She has lost some hearing since being imprisoned.

Savchenko was elected to the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, as a member of the Batkivschyna party led by Yulia Tymoshenko in the snap parliamentary election on October 26, 2014. On November 19, the Central Election Commission registered her as an MP.

Recently PACE adopted the resolution calling Russia to release Ukrainian pilot, MP, member of Ukrainian delegation to PACE Nadia Savchenko, who is currently detained in Moscow. However, PACE resolutions aren't binding.

On January 29, Russia opened one more criminal case on illegal border crossing by Savchenko.