Belarusian author Svetlana Alexievich, known as the 2015 Nobel Laureate in Literature, gave her books and a letter of support to the Embassy of Ukraine in Minsk asking it to convey them to Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko who is being kept in a Russian prison. “I understand that this is a political trial. It all depends on the international developments: they can let Savchenko go or exchange her at any moment. Everything depends on the geopolitical situation,” Alexievich told the press. The author called Savchenko “the Ukrainian Joan of Arc” and wished her a speedy release. Alexievich asked Ukrainian diplomats to convey to Savchenko her books War’s Unwomanly Face, Zinky Boys, and Voices from Chernobyl, noting that she had read the Ukrainian pilot’s book Nadia Is a Strong Name [Nadia means Hope in Ukrainian. – Ed.], written in the prison and sent to Alexievich in late November. “I admire Savchenko, a defender of her homeland. She is a true soldier,” the Nobel laureate summed up.
