During a telephone conversation in the 'Normandy Format' in the early hours of Tuesday with the participation of French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko urged Russia to release Ukrainian pilot and MP Nadia Savchenko and other prisoners.

"Petro Poroshenko has urged Russia to release all Ukrainian hostages, including Nadia Savchenko, Hennadiy Afanasyev and Yuriy Soloshenko," reads a statement posted on the website of the Ukrainian president on Tuesday.

According to the report, Poroshenko also said that the constant violation of the rights of Crimean Tatars in the Russian-occupied Crimea is unacceptable and called on Russia to stop the persecution of Crimean Tatars, as well as immediately release all political prisoners.