During the discussion at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Peter Szijarto, stated that Budapest was not involved in the transfer of 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war into their country.

As reported by Index media outlet, Ukrainian citizens were transferred by religious organizations, and the state is not involved in this.

The minister noted that consultations between church and religious organizations allegedly took place, and ‘the Hungarian state was absolutely not involved’ in this.

Peter Szijarto said that Ukrainians were ‘released’ based on an agreement between religious organizations. Allegedly, they can ‘move freely in Hungary’ and do ‘whatever they want’. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine denies this information, announcing their isolation.

11 Ukrainian prisoners of war were brought to Hungary via the mediation of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Ukrainian side learned about the transfer of its citizens to a third country from the media, as the government was not informed about the relevant negotiations between the Hungarian and Russian sides. Currently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is demanding that the consul be allowed to visit the prisoners of war who are kept in isolation.