Russia handed over a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war from Transcarpathia to Hungary via the Russian Orthodox Church
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it had learned about this from the media.
Russia has handed over a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war from Transcarpathia to Hungary. According to the website of the Moscow Patriarchate, the transfer took place with the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC).
"On June 8, 2023, within the framework of interchurch cooperation, at the request of the Hungarian side, a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war of Transcarpathian origin who participated in hostilities was transferred to Hungary," the statement says.
The action was motivated by "Christian humanity," the statement said.
According to the statement, the transfer took place at the request of Budapest, which means that these are probably ethnic Hungarians from Zakarpattia.
For his part, Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Szemien announced that the Russians had handed over to Hungary a group of 11 prisoners of Hungarian origin captured during the fighting in Ukraine.
"Zsolt Szemien, who is the deputy prime minister in charge of religious affairs, told the Hungarian television portal ATV that the release of the group of prisoners of Hungarian origin from Russian hands was his "human and patriotic duty." He confirmed that a group of captured Ukrainian soldiers, who are from Zakarpattia and have Hungarian roots, had been released from Russian hands. The Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister also said that their release was a gesture of the Russian Orthodox Church.
According to Hungarian media, Russia released the group of at least eleven prisoners at the request of the Hungarian government. The Russian Orthodox Church and its leader, Patriarch Kirill, were involved in this action. On the Hungarian side, the Hungarian Knights of the Order of Malta participated in the negotiations, presumably with the knowledge and approval of Pope Francis. It is known that the soldiers are already in Hungary," said a Polish Radio correspondent.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that it had learned about this from the media. Now Ukraine is asking Hungary to provide detailed information about the transferred citizens and to allow a consul to visit them, said the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Oleh Nikolenko, Hromadske reports.
Background. At the end of May, it became known that Ukraine had returned 106 soldiers from the Bakhmut area from captivity.
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