Seven citizens of Ukraine, who were previously detained in Budapest, have been released and are now back in Ukraine. This was reported by Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, who noted that they are all safe and that Ukrainian consuls provided them with the necessary assistance.
This is reported by Kyiv24
“We managed to secure the release of seven citizens of Ukraine who were held in Budapest. They are now safe and have crossed the Ukrainian border. Our consuls provided the necessary assistance,” Sybiha wrote on social media platform X.
Circumstances of the Detention and the Reaction of the Ukrainian Side
According to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the incident occurred on March 6, when Hungarian law enforcement detained employees of the state-owned Oschadbank who were conducting cash transport between Austria and Ukraine. The National Police of Ukraine has opened criminal proceedings regarding the abduction of Ukrainian citizens and the bank’s service vehicles on Hungarian territory.
The Foreign Ministry advised Ukrainians to refrain from traveling to Hungary and summoned a Hungarian diplomat for explanations. Detailed information was conveyed to EU and US diplomats.
Sybiha emphasized that all valuables and funds will definitely be returned to the Ukrainian side. He also noted that such actions by the Hungarian authorities have a “Russian fingerprint” and are an element of political provocations ahead of the elections in Hungary.
Oschadbank’s Position and the Reaction of the Hungarian Side
Oschadbank reported that they had not received any official notifications from Hungarian law enforcement either before or after the detention of their employees. The bank emphasized that they see no grounds for the detention of cash transport vehicles and personnel, and that the transportation of currency values has been carried out regularly solely by land transport since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
It was noted that significant sums were being transported in the detained vehicles – 40 million US dollars, 35 million euros, and 9 kilograms of gold, which belong to the state Ukrainian bank.
For his part, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that his country has questions regarding the transportation of such large sums of cash through its territory. He emphasized that the investigation into the grounds and purposes of the transportation will continue until full information is received from Kyiv.
The Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration identified all seven citizens of Ukraine, and the government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs reported their deportation.
The incident occurred against the backdrop of escalating relations between Ukraine and Hungary, which is particularly noticeable ahead of the parliamentary elections in Hungary scheduled for April 12.