Sentsov, Savchenko are hostages, must be released – Poroshenko

17:45, 25.08.2015 1 min read

Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who was sentenced by a Russian court on Tuesday to 20 years imprisonment, is in fact a hostage and he must be released as a part of the Minsk agreements, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said.

"Did we expect the occupant state to judge Sentsov in a just trial? It only confirms that there's no just court in Russia," Poroshenko said while commenting on Sentsov's sentence in Odesa on Tuesday.

He said that according to the Minsk agreements, all hostages have to be released, both in the occupied territory of Ukraine and in Russia. That includes Sentsov and Ukrainian pilot, MP Nadia Savchenko. This position is supported by the international community.

"I hope that coordinated actions by the international community will make Russia implement the [Minsk] agreements," Poroshenko said.