Nadiya Savchenko, a national Ukrainian hero and lawmaker, was detained by Ukraine on March 15th over a possible plot to overthrow the Ukrainian government. Ukrainian parliament members voted to strip her of all political immunity for she was accused of planning a large-scale attack on the government through weaponry acquired from pro-Russian separatists. According to the BBC, this attack was to be carried out with grenades and automatic weapons.

In 2014, she was captured by Russian backed rebels and was sentenced to 22 years in Russian prison. Savchenko was accused of playing a part in the deaths of two Russian journalists that were working in a conflict zone. While in prison, she vehemently denied any all allegations.  Savchenko even went as far as to initiating a hunger strike and sticking her middle finger out during her trial in an attempt to be defiant. However, in 2016, she was pardoned by President Putin as a part of a collaborative prisoner exchange between both countries. Savchenko’s gutsy acts against the Russian government made her a national symbol in Ukraine amidst the strained relations between the two countries.

Allegations concerning a coup of the current Ukrainian government stem from government agents that were hired in order to frame Savchenko for the possible attack. According to Al Jazeera and the New York Times, Savchenko went along with the scheme in order to expose the ploy of the government to the public. It should be noted that Savchenko was a vocal opponent of the government and its actions. In response to the terror allegations, Savchenko said: “This is not a terrorist act, this is a political provocation to make the authorities look ridiculous.” While Savchenko claimed she played along with the agents to expose the corrupt government, she has stated in the past that she believes that staging a coup is the best way to deal with rogue authorities.

This event comes at a time when the conflict between Ukrainian government forces and Russian backed rebels still continues in eastern Ukraine. Although a ceasefire has been employed, the clashes between both parties still claim numerous lives. The United Nations Human Rights Council estimates that this war has claimed over 10,000 lives and has left more than 1.6 million people internally displaced. The war has made little progress and is continually depleting funds from either end. Neither the United States nor Europe has provided Ukraine with significant military help in order to defeat the rebels. Attempts at reconciliation haven’t been very successful, proving that peace and stability in the near future is currently a far-fetched possibility. However, peaceful attempts at discussion and reconciliation still continue with the hope that both nations come to an agreement to end the war.