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Savchenko: I could run for president if Ukrainians want it

Ukrainian jailed pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, listens to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko after she was awarded with the Hero of Ukraine medal in the Presidential Office in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 25, 2016. Russia has released jailed pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, as part of a swap for two Russian servicemen imprisoned in Ukraine. Russia has released jailed pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, as part of a swap for two Russian servicemen imprisoned in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Ukrainian jailed pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, listens to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko after she was awarded with the Hero of Ukraine medal in the Presidential Office in Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, May 25, 2016. Russia has released jailed pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, as part of a swap for two Russian servicemen imprisoned in Ukraine. Russia has released jailed pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, as part of a swap for two Russian servicemen imprisoned in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

By Associated Press May 27, 2016 1 min read

MOSCOW (AP) – Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko who came home on Wednesday after two years in Russian custody says she would run for president if that’s what Ukrainians desire.

Savchenko was pardoned by President Vladimir Putin and flown home in a prisoner swap after she was sentenced to 22 years in prison in March for the involvement in the killing of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine. She returned to a rapturous welcome after the imprisonment in Russia made her arguably Ukraine’s most popular public figure.

At her first news conference upon her return, Savchenko told a full house of reporters on Friday what she would like best is to return to her job as a military pilot. However, she says she would be willing to run for president “if Ukrainians need this.”