Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, who had spent nearly two years in a Russian prison, said on Wednesday she was ready to once again sacrifice her life for her homeland as she arrived in Kiev.

"I am ready to once again give my life for Ukraine on the battlefield," she told reporters at Kiev's main Boryspil airport. Sporting a white T-shirt bearing the Ukrainian trident, a national symbol, Savchenko looked tired as she thanked her supporters for helping win her release, an AFP journalist reported from the scene.