A Ukrainian pilot has given a message of defiance to a Russian court, holding up her middle finger to the judges as she shouted “Here is my last word” from inside a glass cage.

Prosecutors allege that Nadiya Savchenko, who had transferred from the air force to fight with Ukrainian ground forces, helped direct artillery fire in the Luhansk region.

Two Russian television reporters were killed by a shell as a result, they say.

Members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg showed their support for Savchensko. Last week US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed his concern for the pilot’s health.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters: “What we see is Western countries, Western officials, representatives of their authorities, putting direct pressure onto a Russian court, onto the Russian judicial system. That is the only way to characterise it. We saw how, the day before the court session, the US Secretary of State, the US Vice President, offici