Hungary denying access to Ukrainian war prisoners transferred from Russia
Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has lodged a demand with Hungary, urging immediate access for Ukrainian consular officials to the prisoners of war transferred by Russia.
Rubryka reports that the ministry's spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko said in a statement that all attempts by Ukrainian diplomats in recent days to establish direct contact with Ukrainian citizens have not been successful.
"This, as well as the information received from the relatives of some of them, shows that the assurances of the Hungarian authorities about the supposedly free status of Ukrainian defenders in Hungary are not true," the ministry spokesperson stressed.
Ukrainian prisoners of war are kept in isolation, Nikolenko said. They do not have access to open sources of information; their communication with relatives occurs in the presence of third parties. They were also denied to establish contact with the Embassy of Ukraine.
Nikolenko noted that the Hungarian authorities ignore all attempts by Ukraine to establish a constructive dialogue on this situation.
"Budapest's actions cast doubt on the declared humanitarian motives behind the deportation of Ukrainians to Hungary," Nikolenko stressed. "They can also be qualified as a violation of the provisions of the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms."
Background
Russia handed over 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war of Hungarian origin to Hungary without the consent of Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that they learned about this from the mass media — from the public statements of the Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary, Zsolt Semjén.
On June 8, the website of the Russian Orthodox Church stated that the transfer of a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary took place through the mediation of the Russian Orthodox Church at the request of Hungary. The Church stated that they are of "Transcarpathian origin."
The Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary confirmed the prisoners' transfer, saying that this "is a gesture of the Russian Orthodox Church towards Hungary, to which these people owe their freedom."
The Hungarian and Russian sides did not inform the Ukrainian government about their negotiations. Ukraine summoned the temporary representative of Hungary and asked them to provide detailed information about Ukrainian citizens and to immediately ensure the consul's access to them.
On June 16, the whereabouts of 11 captured defenders of Ukraine, who are being held in Hungary, became known.
