kyiv and Moscow carried out a prisoner exchange on Friday, the second since the start of the Ukrainian offensive in the Russian region of Kursk, with President Volodymyr Zelensky announcing the return to Ukraine of 49 prisoners of war.
« Forty-nine Ukrainians returned home “, he welcomed Volodymyr Zelensky on Telegram, accompanying his message with photos of the soldiers, including women, wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags. AFP journalists present at the exchange were able to see Russian soldiers, some wearing balaclavas, being taken in a bus towards the border with Belarus, a country allied with Russia, but neither Volodymyr Zelensky nor the Russian authorities have so far given details of the exchange and the number of Russians released.
Also readA prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine took place this Saturday
At the border, faces reflect relief, but also fatigue. The freed Ukrainian soldiers, mostly women, get off a bus with tears in their eyes, hugging the people waiting for them. We are home, we are home! “, some of them repeat.
- RFI
