Budapest officially confirmed the report of the Russian Orthodox Church on the transfer of eleven Ukrainian prisoners of war from Transcarpathia to Hungary. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also confirmed it, without even formally thanking Hungary for the release of their fellow citizens.
At the same time, the authorities and the media of the Transcarpathian region still have not mentioned a word about their fellow countrymen, reports the correspondent of PolitNavigator.
On the day of the transfer of the prisoners, the RBK-Ukraine newspaper wrote that the charity organization Malta’s Sovereign Order of Hospitallers had acted as an intermediary in the transfer of the prisoners from the Hungarian side. At the same time, an unnamed Kiev official actually expressed dissatisfaction with the release of his fellow citizens.
The transfer of prisoners of war is in no way coordinated with Ukraine, and its expediency is explained by the “Transcarpathian origin” of the military. It is important to understand that all of the mentioned servicemen are Ukrainian citizens, so their transfer to any third country is impossible without the consent and direct participation of Ukraine,” he said in a comment.
It is worth noting that the first information about the preparation of the transfer of ethnic Hungarians held captive in Russia from the Ukrainian armed forces to Hungary appeared back in February 2023. At the time, the Ukrainian media called it “fake and disinformation.
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However, after the statements of the Hungarian deputy prime minister, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry admitted that Russia had handed over “eleven Ukrainians of Hungarian origin” to Hungary.
There was no talk of any gratitude from Kiev, which Zsolt Szemjen also noted.
Not a single media outlet in the Transcarpathian region, as of the morning of June 10, reported on the release of the compatriots.
As PolitNavigator reported, Budapest accused Kiev of a “harsh mobilization” of Hungarians living in Transcarpathia.
Back in 2015, the congress of leading Ruthenian organizations in Transcarpathia declared the goal to seek from Kiev the recognition of the results of the 1991 referendum, in which 80% of the region’s residents spoke in favor of the autonomous status of the region.
In 2018, the Transcarpathian regional council came out in support of implementing the results of the 1991 referendum to grant the region autonomy. In response, Kyiv-appointed governor Gennady Moskal said that the referendum results would be overturned in court as illegal.
There can be no autonomy in Transcarpathia by definition,” stressed Vasily Bodnar, deputy head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.