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Kyiv: Kyiv Hungary was accused on Monday of blocking entry to 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war handed over by Russia to the European country, which maintained ties with the Kremlin during the invasion of Ukraine.
the Russian Orthodox Church Earlier this month, a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war were transferred from Transcarpathia – a region with an ethnic Hungarian minority – to Budapest.
About 100,000 ethnic Hungarians live in Transcarpathia in western Ukraine.
Kiev said on Monday that Ukrainian officials had not been able to reach the returned detainees.
“All attempts by Ukrainian diplomats over the past few days to establish direct contact with Ukrainian citizens have been unsuccessful,” said a Foreign Ministry spokesman. Oleg Nikolenko he said in a statement on Facebook.
“They are basically kept in isolation,” he said.
Nikolenko added that they communicate with their relatives in the presence of third parties and are denied contact with the Ukrainian embassy.
He accused Hungary of “ignoring” Kiev’s attempts to establish dialogue.
Nikolenko had said earlier that Kiev had not been informed about the negotiations between Hungary and Russia.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff, Jergly Gulias, said on Monday that Budapest had informed the Ukrainian authorities to transfer the 11 soldiers to Hungary.
“They are not considered prisoners of war in the legal sense because they were released in Russia, and then the Orthodox Church, in cooperation with the (Hungarian) Maltese Charitable Authority, transferred them to Hungary,” Julias told a press briefing in Budapest.
“This is consistent with international law and international practice,” Golias said.
“Of course, the situation was special as they came here of their own free will,” he added.
“They can also freely leave the country at any time of their own free will, and we don’t check or monitor them, they are completely free.”
Those among the group who did not have Hungarian citizenship were granted refugee status, he said.
Due to a long-running dispute with Kiev over the rights of minorities in the Transcarpathian region, Budapest has also vowed to block Kiev’s efforts toward EU and NATO membership.
the Russian Orthodox Church Earlier this month, a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war were transferred from Transcarpathia – a region with an ethnic Hungarian minority – to Budapest.
About 100,000 ethnic Hungarians live in Transcarpathia in western Ukraine.
Kiev said on Monday that Ukrainian officials had not been able to reach the returned detainees.
“All attempts by Ukrainian diplomats over the past few days to establish direct contact with Ukrainian citizens have been unsuccessful,” said a Foreign Ministry spokesman. Oleg Nikolenko he said in a statement on Facebook.
“They are basically kept in isolation,” he said.
Nikolenko added that they communicate with their relatives in the presence of third parties and are denied contact with the Ukrainian embassy.
He accused Hungary of “ignoring” Kiev’s attempts to establish dialogue.
Nikolenko had said earlier that Kiev had not been informed about the negotiations between Hungary and Russia.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff, Jergly Gulias, said on Monday that Budapest had informed the Ukrainian authorities to transfer the 11 soldiers to Hungary.
“They are not considered prisoners of war in the legal sense because they were released in Russia, and then the Orthodox Church, in cooperation with the (Hungarian) Maltese Charitable Authority, transferred them to Hungary,” Julias told a press briefing in Budapest.
“This is consistent with international law and international practice,” Golias said.
“Of course, the situation was special as they came here of their own free will,” he added.
“They can also freely leave the country at any time of their own free will, and we don’t check or monitor them, they are completely free.”
Those among the group who did not have Hungarian citizenship were granted refugee status, he said.
Due to a long-running dispute with Kiev over the rights of minorities in the Transcarpathian region, Budapest has also vowed to block Kiev’s efforts toward EU and NATO membership.
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