Ukraine leader puts detained pilot centre-stage at Minsk talks

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Emerging from all-night talks on Thursday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Ukrainian military pilot Nadezhda Savchenko would be released from a Russian prison soon.

The fact that he singled out the 33-year-old in a deal that should end fighting in a conflict in east Ukraine, which has killed more than 5,000 people, underlined how important Savchenko, who was captured by pro-Russian forces and handed over to Russia, has become.