Hungarian FM denies government's role in transfer of Ukrainian POWs from Russia

Ukrainian prisoners were allegedly transferred to Hungary by religious organizations, and the state was apparently not involved in this, stated the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, during a discussion at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Consultations between church and religious organizations allegedly took place, in which "the Hungarian state was absolutely not involved", the diplomat stressed.

Szijjártó noted that on the basis of an agreement between religious organizations, Ukrainian prisoners of war were "released".

The minister claims that allegedly Ukrainian prisoners can "move freely in Hungary" and do "whatever they want".

"If they want to contact the Ukrainian authorities, they can do it freely, I can guarantee you that," he said.

The Ukrainian adviser to the Commissioner for Missing Persons reported that Hungary continues to hold Ukrainian prisoners of war. They are considered hostages, as the reason for their stay in Hungary and the reason why they are not being released to Ukraine is currently unknown.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén stated that this handover of prisoners is a "gesture of the Russian Orthodox Church" towards Hungary.

On June 8, 2023, the Russian Orthodox Church announced that it had handed over prisoners of war "of Transcarpathian origin" to Hungary as part of "inter-church cooperation at the request of the Hungarian side."

The next day, the Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary Zsolt Semjén confirmed the media reports about the transfer of 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war to the country.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the state was not informed about such a transfer.