Lawyer of Ukrainian female pilot Nadia Savchenko, Mark Feygin, has said that the possibility of his client being Russia servicemen detained in Ukraine may make the court pass a harsher sentence.

"Definitely, there is some direct intensification of the process that proceeds a decision to exchange Savchenko. The prospects aren't bad, though the inevitability of such a swap gives an extra reason for the Kremlin to sentence Savchenko 'to the max'. In any case she is to be swapped. So why one should be ceremonious?" Feygin wrote on his Twitter blog on Monday.

As reported, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has refused to rule out swapping Russian servicemen, who were detained in Ukrainian territory, for Ukrainians imprisoned in Russia for political motives.

The Donetsk City Court in the Rostov region in mid-September will conduct a preliminary hearing of the criminal case against Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko, who is charged with involvement in killing Russian journalists.