Hungary announced today, Friday, that it has received a group of Ukrainian war prisoners from Russia. Ukraine welcomed the release of some of its prisoners but expressed concern over not being notified about it. The released prisoners belong to the western part of Ukraine, which shares borders with Hungary, according to the Russian Orthodox Church, which stated it contributed to securing their release. Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén mentioned in a post on his official Facebook page, "This is my humanitarian and national duty... We returned from Moscow 11 war prisoners from Transcarpathia."
The government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has long supported the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary and blocked proposals from EU member states to impose sanctions on the church's Patriarch Kirill. A statement published on the Russian Orthodox Church's website late Thursday said, "At Hungary's request, a group of Ukrainian war prisoners of Transcarpathian origin who participated in the fighting was transferred to Hungary."
In response to a request for comment earlier today, a spokesperson for the Hungarian government stated that the announcement was "fake news." The spokesperson could not be reached for further comment afterward. Ukraine, which has conducted three prisoner exchanges with Russia through international mediation during the ongoing Russian invasion for more than 15 months, stated that it was not informed about the prisoners' release. The Foreign Ministry requested that the Hungarian representative in Ukraine allow for immediate access to them. Oleg Nikolenko, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, wrote on Facebook, "News of the release of war prisoners is always good news," adding that the ministry "emphasized the need to coordinate cooperation on such sensitive issues."
