Péter Szijjártó, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, has responded to the statement of Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, who accused Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of acting in his own political interest by exchanging Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russia.

"Our Ukrainian colleague, Dmytro Kuleba, has repeated his unfounded accusations against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Hungary today.

We have already explained this several times, but let me reiterate: 11 individuals were released from captivity through the cooperation of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Maltese Aid Service. This was done without the involvement of the Hungarian government," wrote Szijjártó on his Facebook page.

He added that the Hungarian government is "glad that it happened" because "if even one person returns to freedom, that is already good news. And this is 11 times more."

"These 11 individuals can freely move around Hungary, they can do whatever they deem necessary, and they can contact whoever they want. Instead of false attacks and personal attacks, we should celebrate the freedom of these 11 people. If my Ukrainian colleague has any doubts or questions, he knows how to reach me," Szijjártó emphasised.

He further stated that Budapest continues to insist on the urgent establishment of peace because "peace will put an end to the suffering of people, the suffering of hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of people."

The opposition has questioned that the exchange of prisoners of war happened without the involvement of the Hungarian government. Commenting on Szijjártó's post, opposition member Péter Márki-Zay reminded that Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen was involved in the process, which he publicly confirmed.

"To deliver the prisoners, the intervention of Semjen, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen, was necessary, right? Yes, it happened with the involvement of the Hungarian government. Another important question is: What did Putin ask for in return? Or is this already a payment for what happened before? We know from you that nothing is free. If it's true, we're waiting for an answer," Márki-Zay wrote.

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba claims that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán himself is personally interested in transferring Ukrainian prisoners of war from Russia to Hungary.

According to the Minister, "Orbán wanted to show the Hungarians both in Hungary and beyond that he is their only defender."

The Hungarian government denied refusing access to the released 11 prisoners of war to Ukrainian diplomats.

Orbán's administration claimed that they allegedly informed Kyiv about the transfer of Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary when it occurred and that they ceased to be prisoners once they arrived in Hungary.