The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is trying to achieve the return home of 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war of Transcarpathian origin, whom Hungary took out of Russia without the knowledge of Kiev or international human rights organizations. This was told by the speaker of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Oleg Nikolenko.
“All attempts by Ukrainian diplomats over the past few days to establish direct contact with Ukrainian citizens have not been successful. This, as well as information received from the relatives of some of them, indicates that the assurances of the Hungarian authorities about the allegedly free status of Ukrainian defenders in Hungary do not correspond to reality, ”said the representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
According to him, "in fact, they are kept in isolation":
“[Ukrainian prisoners of war] do not have access to open sources of information, their communication with relatives takes place in the presence of third parties, they are denied contact with the Ukrainian embassy. Attempts by the Ukrainian side to establish a constructive dialogue with the Hungarian authorities through official diplomatic channels, unfortunately, are ignored.”
On June 9, Russia handed over to Hungary a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war of Transcarpathian origin. As reported on the website of the Moscow Patriarchate, the transfer took place with the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church.
“On June 8, 2023, within the framework of inter-church cooperation, at the request of the Hungarian side, a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war of Transcarpathian origin who participated in the hostilities was transferred to Hungary,” the message said.