Pennard cafe worker emails Vladimir Putin in protest as Ukranian pilot is held

A CAFE worker from Gower has emailed Vladimir Putin protesting about the detention of a Ukrainian fighter pilot.

Arthur Rogers said 34 Assembly Members had signed the letter to the Russian president, raising concerns about First Lieutenant Nadiya Savchenko.

Mr Rogers said he was friends with Ukrainians in his home village of Pennard and felt strongly about the conflict between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists.

"The longer it's going on, the nastier it's getting," said Mr Rogers, who works at Three Cliffs Coffee Shop, Southgate.

A ceasefire supposedly came into a force eight days ago but shelling has continued.

Mr Rogers claimed Ms Savchenko had been captured in Ukraine last June while fighting with a volunteer infantry unit, and then taken across the border and charged with the death of two Russian journalists.

Russian prosecutors have apparently alleged that Ms Savchenko gave the positions of a three-strong team of television journalists to mortar specialists she was fighting with.

Ms Savchenko's lawyers claimed they have proof this was not the case. According to Mr Rogers, the 33-year-old pilot has also been charged with illegally crossing the border.

He said: "She's been in prison for around eight months.

"If you have somebody in custody for that long and don't have enough evidence to prosecute then she is innocent."

Mr Rogers, a Pennard community councillor, added that the deaths of the journalists were "tragic", but felt Russia had questions to answer about the conflict.

"I'm very pleased that more than half our AMs — and almost all of those in South West Wales — see the importance of this campaign," he said.

The Ukraine crisis began in 2013 when pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych's Government abandoned an EU agreement in favour of stronger ties with Russia, prompting mass protests. Subsequent unrest in Ukraine's peninsula of Crimea led to its annexation by Russia.

Plaid Cymru member Mr Rogers, aged 34, has written to Ms Savchenko.

He also emailed a copy of the letter for Mr Putin to the Russian Embassy in London.

"I'm not expecting a response," he said.

The Post asked the Russian embassy for a response, but nobody replied at the time of going to press.