Hungary will not extradite military-age Ukrainian men

Budapest will not hand over male Ukrainian refugees who are liable for military service to Kyiv, Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén has said.

According to atv.hu, Semjén said that "every refugee" from Ukraine is "completely safe and receives all the assistance [they need]".

"Hungary will not extradite refugees to Ukraine. We do not investigate whether a person is liable, according to the Ukrainians, for military service or not. Out of basic humanity, we will not allow them to be sent to their deaths," Semjén said.

Semjén noted that in the case of Transcarpathian Hungarians, this is Budapest's "natural national duty", and in the case of Ukrainians, it is a humanitarian and legal gesture, as no one whose life is at risk is subject to extradition.

"The Ukrainians want them to be handed over to be sent to the war, to the front line, where people are being killed. For that reason, those who fled to us from Ukraine are all safe, and we will not extradite them," he said.

On 23 April 2024, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to temporarily suspend the provision of consular services to men liable for military service.

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, has said that Ukraine will not force military-age men to return from abroad.