Russia releases Hungarian-Ukrainian POWs to Budapest, drawing Kyiv's ire
Hungary secured the release of two dual Hungarian-Ukrainian POWs after diplomatic talks amid tensions over energy supplies and EU sanctions on Russia, officials said.
- During Péter Szijjártó's Moscow visit, Putin handed two ethnic Hungarian–Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary, and they boarded the Hungarian aircraft shortly after talks.
- Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had asked Putin on Tuesday to consider freeing Hungarian nationals, prompting Péter Szijjártó to travel to Moscow amid Hungary's dispute with Ukraine over the Druzhba oil pipeline.
- Putin said the men were dual nationals and had been forcibly conscripted, noting, 'These are citizens who have both Ukrainian and Hungarian citizenship. They were forcibly conscripted to the front...'
- Kyiv did not respond to Hungary's request for the prisoners' return, amid Viktor Orbán's anti-Ukraine campaign before the April 12 parliamentary election.
- Energy guarantees framed the talks, as Szijjártó confirmed Russia would deliver natural gas and crude oil at unchanged prices to Hungary, which blocks a 90 billion euro EU loan.
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82 Articles
According to military official Alexei Chorpita, in 2023 the Russians offered him release to Hungary if he recorded a video in which he spoke negatively about the Ukrainian authorities and at the same time praised Russia. The military refused, so he did not get into the exchange then.
A few weeks before the election, Russia's president gives the Hungarian head of government a success. Meanwhile, Budapest's conflict with Kiev continues to intensify in order to deliver oil from Russia.
Hungary's head of government Orbán had asked that the Kremlin head fulfills his wish: Russia releases two Ukrainian-Hungarian prisoners. The step falls in the middle of the election campaign in the EU country.
Hungary has received guarantees from Russian President Vladimir Putin about the supply of energy at unchanged prices.
Hungary's head of government is seeking support from Moscow in the oil supply dispute and continues to block the 90 billion EU financial aid to Kiev.
Putin hosts Hungary's foreign minister for energy supply talks as
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hosted Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó for talks in Moscow, with oil and gas supplies high on the agenda, as Hungary has maintained its reliance on Russian fossil fuels, despite the war in Ukraine . Szijjártó said earlier on Wednesday that he was in Moscow seeking guarantees from Russian authorities that Hungary would continue to have access to Russian oil and gas amid disruptions caused b…
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