Ukraine: Ex-soldier Nadia Savchenko with a forged vaccination certificate

Enlarge image

Nadija Savchenko (photo from 2016)

Photo: Sergey Dolzhenko / dpa

Nadija Savchenko was caught in the Ukrainian capital Kiev with a fake Covid-19 vaccination certificate.

This was reported by Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyj.

The national heroine Nadija Savchenko now faces a prison sentence of up to two years.

The minister reported that the 40-year-old had arrived with her sister from Turkey by plane.

Both are now threatened with prison.

Savchenko himself did not initially comment on this.

Savchenko was captured during fighting in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk against pro-Russian separatists in 2014 and handed over to Russia.

There the ex-professional soldier was sentenced to 22 years in prison for murder in an internationally acclaimed trial.

In 2016, the ex-MP was finally released after an exchange of prisoners.

A vaccination certificate frees you from quarantine after entry in Ukraine.

In the current corona wave, the authorities set new negative records on Friday with 23,785 infections and 614 deaths.

At the same time, the willingness to vaccinate is low despite the presence of vaccines.

Just under 17 percent of Ukrainians are fully vaccinated.

as / dpa