Zelensky announces return of 49 Ukrainian POWs from Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Friday that 49 Ukrainian prisoners of war had been returned to their country from Russia, publishing photographs of the men and women wrapped in Ukrainian flags.

"Forty-nine Ukrainians are home," Zelensky said on social media. "These are soldiers of the armed forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the national police, the state border guard service, as well as our civilians," Zelensky said, adding that it included fighters from Mariupol's 2022 Azvostal battle.