.Ukrainian Head of state Volodymyr Zelensky revealed Friday that 49 Ukrainian POWs had actually been returned from Russia, along with AFP watching the group being welcomed at the border with Belarus.Zelensky performed certainly not clear up whether it belonged to a substitution with Russia, as is actually typically the scenario, however AFP reporters had earlier seen Russian prisoners of war being actually filled onto a bus near the border.It would certainly be actually the 2nd substitution between the challenging countries because Kyiv's surprise incursion right into Russia's Kursk area.Zelensky pointed out civilians were additionally one of the returnees, featuring a "gal who was actually taken hostage when she involved take care of her ill daddy.".He said the swap additionally featured competitors coming from Mariupol's 2022 Azovstal battle, and also soldiers, perimeter shields and policemans.AFP spoke to 2 females in their 20s wrapped in Ukrainian banners and getting flowers, who claimed they were at the Azovstal vegetation that fell to Russia after a siege in 2022." I am actually ultimately home, I can't believe it," mentioned 28-year-old Tamara Miroshnikova, leader of an equipped vehicle of Ukraine's National Protector, stated.Yet another lady, 29-year-old Tetiana Bugay, mentioned she was actually a medic at the Azov brigade that defended Azovstal.Earlier, AFP saw the Ukrainian armed forces driving Russian POWs in a bus, some were wearing hoods hiding their faces, which were eliminated as they were loaded into a minivan.AFP spoke to several of all of them briefly, and all those who talked mentioned they were actually taken captive during Ukraine's shock Kursk onslaught final month.