Jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko has been freed by Russia and is expected in Kiev shortly, several sources in the Ukrainian presidency told AFP Wednesday.

Earlier in the day alleged Russian soldiers Aleksandr Aleksandrov and Yevgeny Yerofeyev, sentenced by Ukraine to 14 years in prison for fighting in rebel-held east, left Ukraine, opening the way for Savchenko's swap, Yerofeyev's lawyer Oksana Sokolovska told AFP.

"Yerofeyev and Aleksandrov are no longer in Ukraine, which means that the pardoning has taken place," Sokolovska said.