Ukrainian media portal claims Hungary may soon be receiving more Transcarpathian POW's from Russia

Citing a Ukrainian intelligence source, RBC Ukraine reports that the Russian Orthodox Church may transfer more Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary in the near future. They note that, as in the previous case, this operation is likely to take place without the participation and approval of the Ukrainian side.

The news site's source claims that the Russian Orthodox Church is actively engaged in negotiations about an upcoming visit to Russia by representatives of the Hungarian government. According to preliminary information, this could take place around 8-11 August.

"The main purpose of the visit would be to discuss the transfer of the next group of Ukrainian prisoners of war of Hungarian descent. Just like last time, this is being done without Ukraine's participation and approval, without any legal basis, which is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law," the source said. They added that from the Russian side, the negotiating party would be Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, who has been head of External Church Relations at the Moscow Patriarchate since 7 June 2022.

According to Ukrainian sources, the Hungarian side doesn't possess a list of soldiers it would like to receive from Russian captivity. “At the moment, the Russian special services are searching among the prisoners and selecting those from Transcarpathia and preparing the list. The plan is to form a group of 10-15 prisoners of war before the arrival of the Hungarian delegation,” RBC's source said. They also mentioned that the Hungarian government is interested in receiving soldiers of Hungarian nationality who speak the Hungarian language. "The Hungarians will not take in anyone but representatives of the Hungarian minority," he said.

In June, eleven Transcarpathian prisoners of war were brought to Hungary through the mediation of Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén and the Russian Orthodox Church. The case sparked a major diplomatic scandal between Hungary and Ukraine, as the Hungarian side did not inform the Ukrainians in advance about receiving the prisoners of war.

More on how it was possible for Russia to hand over Ukrainian POWs to Hungary, and whether they were POWs at all, may be found in this article.