Military intelligence: Ukraine unaware of whereabouts of POWs Russia transferred to Hungary

Ukraine currently lacks information on the whereabouts of prisoners of war who were reportedly transferred to Hungary, as previously announced by the Russian Orthodox Church, Andriy Yusov, military intelligence spokesperson, said on air.

The Russian Orthodox Church announced through its press service on June 8 that it handed over a group of  prisoners of war to Hungary. The supposed transfer of the soldiers of "Zakarpattia origin" happened at the request of Budapest and with the "blessing" of the Moscow Patriarch Kirill.

Ukraine's westernmost Zakarpattia Oblast is home to many ethnic Hungarians holding Ukrainian citizenship, of which more than 400 are serving in the country's military.

"As of now, we have no information that this (the transfer) has occurred, that the prisoners are already on the territory of that country (Hungary), and are free," Yusov said on June 10. "The most important thing for us is the human life. We hope that as a result of these manipulations by the aggressor state, some Ukrainians will be released."

According to Yusov, the Ukrainian officials will be clarifying the details with all parties involved in the transfer of military prisoners.

Hungary said on June 9 it had received a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russia, a release that Ukraine welcomed.

"This is my human and patriotic duty... we have brought back from Moscow 11 prisoners of war from Transcarpathia," Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen said on official Facebook page.

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The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek