The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine states that the conditions of detention of Ukrainian captives transferred to Hungary from Russia do not allow for considering them as having a free status, and the Hungarian side is not engaging in constructive dialogue with Kyiv on this matter.

"All attempts by Ukrainian diplomats over the past few days to establish direct contact with Ukrainian citizens have been unsuccessful. This, along with the information received from the relatives of some of them, indicates that the assurances of the Hungarian authorities regarding the alleged free status of Ukrainian defenders in Hungary do not correspond to reality.

In fact, they are being held isolated, do not have access to open sources of information, communicate with families in the presence of other individuals, and are denied contact with the Embassy of Ukraine. The attempts of the Ukrainian side to establish a constructive dialogue with the Hungarian authorities through official diplomatic channels are unfortunately being ignored," said MFA spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko.

He noted that such actions by Budapest cast doubt on the declared humanitarian motives for the transfer of Ukrainians to Hungary and may be considered violations of the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has once again appealed to the Hungarian side with a demand to immediately allow the Ukrainian consul to visit the Ukrainian prisoners of war so that he can assess their physical and psychological condition, inform them about their rights, and provide urgent consular assistance," the spokesperson added.

Prior to this, an advisor to the Commissioner for Persons Missing under Special Circumstances also commented that the prospects for returning these 11 Ukrainians home remain uncertain.

Meanwhile, Orban's administration claimed that they had allegedly informed Kyiv about the transfer of Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary when it happened and that the PoWs ceased to be captives once they arrived in Hungary.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine previously stated that the transfer of the 11 prisoners of war to Kyiv became known from statements by the Deputy Prime Minister of Hungary.