Foreign ministry urges Ukrainians to refrain from travelling to Hungary

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has urged Ukrainian citizens to refrain from travelling to Hungary after an incident in which Ukrainian cash-in-transit guards were seized by the Hungarian authorities.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said it is currently impossible to guarantee the safety of Ukrainians in Hungary amid the "arbitrary actions of the Hungarian authorities" and therefore urged people to refrain from travelling to the country.

"If possible, we also ask you to prioritise other transit routes, not via Hungarian territory," the foreign ministry noted.

In addition, Ukraine's foreign ministry drew the attention of European and Ukrainian businesses to "the risks of arbitrary abduction of property on Hungary's territory" and therefore recommended "taking these risks into account in the context of any business activity in this country".

As reported, the National Bank of Ukraine said on the night of 5-6 March that Hungary's authorities had seized Ukrainian cash-in-transit guards and a large amount of currency.

It later became known that the cash-in-transit vehicles abducted by Hungarian law enforcement officers were hidden at Hungary's Counterterrorism Centre. It is worth noting that this body had previously taken part in anti-Ukrainian provocations by Orbán's regime. At the same time, the whereabouts of the bank employees remain unknown.

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

He also reported that Hungary has still not granted Ukrainian consuls access to the seven Ukrainian cash-in-transit guards.