Hungary still denies Ukrainian consuls access to 7 abducted cash-in-transit workers from Ukraine

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has said that Hungary has still not granted Ukrainian consuls access to seven Ukrainian citizens being held in Budapest.

The minister said that the Hungarian side had provided no explanations after the National Bank of Ukraine reported on the night of 5-6 March that Hungarian authorities had seized Ukrainian cash-in-transit staff and a large amount of currency.

"Ukrainian consuls have still not been permitted access to seven Ukrainian citizens taken hostage in Budapest," Sybiha wrote on X.

He stressed that Ukraine is demanding their immediate release and is preparing further steps, including at the level of the European Union.

Earlier it was reported that the cash-in-transit vehicles seized by Hungarian security forces had been hidden at the Counterterrorism Centre of Hungary. The structure has previously been involved in anti-Ukrainian provocations linked to the government of Viktor Orbán.

Sybiha said that the actions of the Hungarian authorities amounted to hostage-taking and state terrorism.