Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Hungary of unlawfully detaining seven employees of its state-owned Oschadbank in Budapest, the latest in a series of disputes between the neighbouring states.
The Ukrainian citizens were stopped as they were taking two vehicles carrying cash between Austria and Ukraine “as part of regular services between state banks,” Sybiha said in a post on X late on Thursday.
Ukraine’s central bank also demanded the “immediate release of Ukrainian citizens and an official explanation from Hungary,” in a post on X. Governor Andriy Pyshnyi said all contact had been lost with the employees and their whereabouts were unknown.
Sybiha said Kyiv will ask the European Union to explain what he described as “Hungary’s unlawful actions, hostage-taking, and robbery.”
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It’s the latest flare-up between Kyiv and Budapest as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban faces a strong opposition challenge to his 16-year rule ahead of an April 12 general election. Orban, who retains close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, is trailing in opinion polls and seeking to leverage opposition to aiding Ukraine in the war with Russia to bolster voter support.
Last month, Hungary blocked the latest round of EU sanctions against Russia and a crucial €90 billion loan package from the bloc to Ukraine in a spat over halted Russian oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline. Budapest has accused Kyiv of dragging its feet in repairing the pipeline which Ukraine said was damaged in a Russian air strike.
“If this is the ‘force’ announced earlier today by Mr Orban, then this is a force of a criminal gang,” Sybiha said. “This is state terrorism and racketeering.”