The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine says that the conditions of stay in Hungary of Ukrainian prisoners transferred to it from the Russian Federation do not allow us to talk about their free status, and the Hungarian side does not enter into a constructive dialogue with Kyiv on this issue.
The corresponding comment was published by the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleg Nikolenko.
"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, indicates that the assurances of the Hungarian authorities about the allegedly free status of Ukrainian defenders in Hungary do not correspond to reality .
In fact, they are kept in isolation, do not have access to open sources of information, their communication with relatives takes place in the presence of third parties, they are refused to establish contact with the Embassy of Ukraine. Attempts by the Ukrainian side to establish a constructive dialogue with the Hungarian authorities through official diplomatic channels are, unfortunately, being ignored," Nikolenko said.
He noted that such actions by Budapest call into question the declared humanitarian motives for the deportation of Ukrainians to Hungary and can be qualified as a violation of the provisions of the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine once again appealed to the Hungarian side with the demand to immediately allow the Ukrainian consul to visit the Ukrainian prisoners of war, so that he could assess their physical and psychological condition, tell them about their rights, as well as provide urgent consular assistance," the speaker added.
Prior to that, the adviser of the Commissioner for Persons Who Disappeared Under Special Circumstances also commented that the prospects for the return home of these 11 Ukrainians remain uncertain.
At the same time, Orbán's administration said that it allegedly informed Kyiv of the transfer of Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary when it happened, and that they ceased to be prisoners from the moment they arrived in Hungary.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine previously stated that it became known about the transfer of 11 prisoners of war to Kyiv from the statements of the Vice Prime Minister of Hungary.
