Budapest, Hungary — Ukraine’s foreign minister accused Hungarian authorities of taking seven Ukrainian employees of a state-owned bank hostage and illegally seizing a cash shipment traveling in a convoy across Hungary.
In a post on X late Thursday, Foreign Minister Andriy Syibiha wrote that the well-being of the seven Ukrainians — employees of the state-owned Oschadbank traveling between Austria and Ukraine in two armored cars — was unknown.
Saibiha wrote that the armored cars carried cash as part of regular services between state banks.
In a separate statement, Oschadbank wrote that $40 million in American currency, as well as 35 million euros and 9 kilograms (19.8 pounds) of gold were seized from Hungary.
GPS data showed the vehicles were in central Budapest near Hungarian law enforcement agencies, but the location of the bank employees was unknown, the bank wrote.
Hungary’s interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The incident further heightened tensions between Hungary and Ukraine, which are locked in a bitter feud over Hungary’s access to Russian oil through a pipeline crossing Ukrainian territory.
Oil transportation through the Druzhba pipeline has been disrupted since January 27. Ukraine says a Russian drone strike damaged the pipeline’s infrastructure, putting technicians at risk of repairing it, and even if it is restored, it could be vulnerable to further Russian attacks.
However, Hungary’s government has accused Ukraine of deliberately withholding Russian crude supplies and has vowed to take countermeasures against Kyiv until oil flows resume.
Hungary, along with neighboring Slovakia, has rebuffed European Union efforts to phase out Russian fossil fuels and continues to buy them despite Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Without citing them directly, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán hinted at the arrest of the bank vehicles in statements to state radio on Friday: “We will stop important things for Ukraine passing through Hungary until the Ukrainians get approval for oil shipments.”
Orban, who has close ties to the Kremlin, has previously halted diesel shipments to Ukraine, vetoed a new round of EU sanctions against Russia and frozen a key, 90-billion-euro loan while stepping up an aggressive anti-Ukraine campaign ahead of crucial elections next month. In oil transportation.
He has deployed military forces to key energy infrastructure sites across Hungary, which Ukraine has accused of disrupting.
On Thursday, Orbán told the Economic Forum that Hungary would use “force”, including “political and economic instruments”, to force Ukraine to resume oil shipments.
In his post on X, the Ukrainian foreign minister took issue with Orban’s comments: “We are talking about taking Hungary hostage and stealing money.”
“If this is the ‘force’ announced earlier today by Mr. Orbán, it is the power of a criminal gang,” Sibiha wrote. “This is state terrorism and extortion.”
Sybiha added that Ukraine will take up the matter with the EU to clarify Hungary’s actions.
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