Ukraine's Savchenko launches hunger strike over political inaction

Ukrainian pilot and MP Nadiya Savchenko attends a news conference in Kiev, Ukraine, August 2, 2016. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

KIEV (Reuters) - Nadiya Savchenko, the Ukrainian servicewoman-turned-lawmaker who spent two years in a Russian jail, announced a new hunger strike on Tuesday to speed up the release of other Ukrainian prisoners-of-war, accusing Ukraine's president of ignoring their plight.

Savchenko's return from Russia in May via a prisoner swap was a PR coup for President Petro Poroshenko. But her membership of a main opposition party and vocal criticism of key policies threaten to make her a thorn in his side.