.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared Friday that 49 Ukrainian POWs had actually been actually returned from Russia, with AFP observing the group being welcomed at the border along with Belarus.Zelensky did certainly not clear up whether it was part of a substitution with Russia, as is generally the situation, but AFP journalists had previously seen Russian prisoners of war being packed onto a bus near the perimeter.It will be the second swap in between the warring countries due to the fact that Kyiv's surprise attack right into Russia's Kursk area.Zelensky stated civilians were actually also one of the returnees, featuring a "gal who was hijacked when she came to look after her unwell daddy.".He claimed the exchange also featured boxers coming from Mariupol's 2022 Azovstal fight, along with soldiers, perimeter shields and policemans.AFP spoke to two girls in their 20s covered in Ukrainian banners as well as obtaining florals, who mentioned they were at the Azovstal plant that was up to Russia after a siege in 2022." I am actually lastly home, I can't feel it," mentioned 28-year-old Tamara Miroshnikova, leader of an equipped automobile of Ukraine's National Shield, stated.An additional female, 29-year-old Tetiana Bugay, stated she was a medic at the Azov brigade that fought for Azovstal.Previously, AFP observed the Ukrainian army driving Russian POWs in a bus, some were actually wearing bonnets hiding their skins, which were eliminated as they were actually filled right into a minivan.AFP talked with a few of them for a while, and all those that talked mentioned they were taken captive in the course of Ukraine's surprise Kursk onslaught last month.