Hungary's involvement in POW transfer from Russia could be war crime — expert
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The Hungarian authorities' attempt to justify the transfer of 11 Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russia as the initiative of individual persons may be seen as a war crime according to international conventions, political analyst Ihor Reiterovych told Radio NV on June 21.
The presence and continued detention of Ukrainian soldiers on Hungarian territory is an "unacceptable and flagrant" situation for which the country's government bears full responsibility, Reiterovych said.
"According to one version, a high-ranking official in the Hungarian government handled this issue," Reiterovych said.
"Furthermore, it was done without the consent of other government officials, which came as a surprise to the Hungarian authorities. They are now trying to cover up this story as much as possible, as it already violates several international conventions and is considered a war crime in general. Lawyers classify participation in this swap without agreement with Ukraine and other factors as an abduction, which has also drawn attention from the European Commission."
The political analyst did not rule out the possibility that Russia "covertly" used Hungarian government officials to further its propaganda goals.
"The Hungarians fell into this trap, but instead of apologizing and acknowledging it as a mistake, granting access to the consul, and so on, they, unfortunately, as we are accustomed to, deny any wrongdoing, claim it was a misunderstanding, and refer to contact with public organizations," he said.
"It is likely that they will continue to hold this position."
Budapest can prevent further damage to its reputation only by promptly returning all 11 Ukrainian POWs to Ukraine, the expert stated.
"If they delay resolving this issue, it will be raised to the level of the European Union, and international organizations, including Interpol, may have grounds to initiate criminal cases and prosecute those involved," Reiterovych added.
On June 8, the Russian Orthodox Church announced that it had handed over a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary. The following day, Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate stated that it had not received this information and was in the process of verifying it.
Subsequently, Hungary's Deputy Prime Minister, Zsolt Semjén, confirmed the transfer of the Ukrainian POWs, who were residents of Ukraine's Zakarpattya Oblast. Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressing its lack of knowledge about negotiations between Budapest and Moscow, requested detailed information about the released Ukrainians and a meeting with the temporary chargé d'affaires of Hungary.
According to sources quoted by the Hungarian branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the prisoner transfer might have been a personal initiative of Semjén, unknown to the rest of the Hungarian government.
On June 20, the Ukrainian Embassy in Budapest succeeded in repatriating three Ukrainian POWs who were handed over to Hungary by Russia without Kyiv's knowledge, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko.
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