.Ukrainian Head of state Volodymyr Zelensky announced Friday that 49 Ukrainian POWs had been actually returned from Russia, with AFP observing the group being greeted at the boundary with Belarus.Zelensky did certainly not make clear whether it belonged to an exchange with Russia, as is actually usually the case, but AFP reporters had previously viewed Russian hostages being loaded onto a bus near the borderline.It will be actually the second swap in between the challenging nations since Kyiv's unpleasant surprise incursion right into Russia's Kursk region.Zelensky said private citizens were actually additionally among the returnees, consisting of a "gal that was taken hostage when she concerned deal with her sick daddy.".He pointed out the substitution also consisted of boxers from Mariupol's 2022 Azovstal battle, in addition to soldiers, boundary protectors as well as law enforcement officers.AFP contacted 2 females in their 20s covered in Ukrainian flags as well as getting florals, that said they were at the Azovstal vegetation that was up to Russia after a siege in 2022." I'm eventually home, I can not feel it," stated 28-year-old Tamara Miroshnikova, commander of an equipped auto of Ukraine's National Protection, pointed out.An additional female, 29-year-old Tetiana Bugay, mentioned she was actually a paramedic at the Azov unit that fought for Azovstal.Earlier, AFP viewed the Ukrainian military driving Russian POWs in a bus, some were wearing hoods hiding their skins, which were actually taken out as they were packed right into a minivan.AFP spoke with some of them quickly, and all those that spoke mentioned they were actually captured throughout Ukraine's shock Kursk aggression final month.