Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there have been regular conflicts between Budapest and Kyiv. The reason for this is the position of Viktor Orban’s government, which does not support sanctions against Russia and blocks aid to Ukraine, which is different from the EU members. Therefore, the information about the transfer of 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary on June 8 “with the blessing” of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill (Gundyaev) “within the framework of inter-church cooperation” without the participation of Ukraine caused a diplomatic scandal. After all, back in 2022, Cyril blessed the Russian army for the war against Ukraine. However, now the action of handing over Ukrainian soldiers to the RPC was called a manifestation of “Christian philanthropy.”
“The transfer of prisoners of war is in no way coordinated with Ukraine, and its expediency is explained by the “Transcarpathian origin” of the military. It is important to understand that all the mentioned military personnel are Ukrainian citizens, and therefore their transfer to any third country is impossible without the consent and direct participation of Ukraine,” — the source said in a comment to RBC-Ukraine.
The news was spread by the Russian Orthodox Church (RPC), then it was confirmed by the Hungarian mass media with reference to representatives of the Hungarian government.
Later Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs of Hungary Zolt Shemien ATV confirmed the information about the transfer of 11 prisoners of war from Russia to Hungary. We are talking about Transcarpathian Hungarians.
“This is my human and patriotic duty”– said Shemien, noting that he coordinated the transfer of prisoners.
At the same time, he refused to provide any details, referring to the “interests of the case and the people.” According to the politician, this is a gesture of the Russian Orthodox Church towards Hungary.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reacted to the statement of the Russian Military Police about the transfer of 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war to another country. The department stated that the Ukrainian government was not informed about the negotiations between the Hungarian and Russian sides regarding the release of captured Ukrainian soldiers. It was reported spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleg Nikolenko, commenting on the Hungarian official’s statement. He noted that the temporary attorney of Hungary was summoned to the ministry to clarify the situation.
“From the public statements of the Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary, we learned that Russia handed over eleven Ukrainians of Hungarian origin to Budapest. The temporary representative of Hungary was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine today for a substantive conversation,” — emphasized Nikolenko.
In addition, according to the speaker, “the Ukrainian side submitted a request to provide detailed information about our citizens and to immediately ensure access to them for the Ukrainian consul to get acquainted with their state of health and provide them with consular assistance.”
During the meeting with the temporary chargé d’affaires of Hungary in Ukraine, who was called for a conversation, Ukrainian diplomats emphasized the need to coordinate interaction in “such sensitive issues as the release of prisoners of war.”
“The release of Ukrainian prisoners of war is always good news. Ukraine, in cooperation with international partners, is actively working to return all our defenders home.”– emphasized the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According director of the Institute of World Politics Yevhen Magdawith such actions, Russia demonstrated its political partner within the EU and NATO.
“Russia wants to internationalize the Russian-Ukrainian war as much as possible. To once again demonstrate that Hungary is a political partner of Russia within the EU and NATO”he said in a commentary for BBC Ukraine.
It will be recalled that the last exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia took place on May 25. Then Ukraine returned 106 defenders of Bakhmut.
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