Ukrainian parliamentarian Nadiya Savchenko and her lawyers have filed a request that Prosecutor Oleksandr Klymovych of the Ukrainian Chief Military Prosecutor's Office be recused at the hearing of Savchenko's appeal against the Shevchenkivsky District Court's ruling that she be taken into pretrial custody.

Savchenko said at the hearing at the Kyiv Appeals Court on Thursday that Prosecutor Klymovych is biased. "This prosecutor said at the previous hearing that Russian servicemen are better than Ukrainian servicemen," she said.

Savchenko also claimed that Prosecutor Klymovych violated the principle of the presumption of innocence by accusing her of committing a crime before this was proven in court and that he personally dislikes her.

Savchenko's lawyers supported her stance and said they would file a complaint concerning Klymovych with the prosecutorial disciplinary commission.

Klymovych objected to the request, saying it was unwarranted, and pointed out that he had said that the Russian servicemen Yevgeny Yerofeyev and Alexander Alexandrov, who were swapped for Savchenko in May 2016, are better than Ukrainian citizens who plot to commit a crime against their own country.

The court has retired for deliberations.