KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko says the nation needs early parliamentary elections to "to infuse fresh blood" into its politics.

Savchenko, who has become a national hero in Ukraine after spending two years in a Russian prison, told The Associated Press Friday that the "Ukrainian people deserve a better government that they now have."

She said the government has failed public expectations raised by the ouster of Ukraine's former Moscow-friendly president in February 2014. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his allies in the ruling parliament coalition oppose early elections, saying they would only foment instability and deepen the economic crisis.

Savchenko also said the U.S. and its allies need to exert more pressure on Russia to make it honor a Ukraine peace deal to avert the danger of another world war.