Ukraine Urges Citizens to Avoid Travel to Hungary After Abduction of Seven Ukrainians and Fund Seizure

Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged Ukrainian citizens to avoid traveling to Hungary after what it described as the abduction of seven Ukrainian nationals and the seizure of property belonging to a Ukrainian state bank in Budapest.

In a statement, published on March 6, the ministry said it could no longer guarantee the safety of Ukrainians in Hungary amid what it called arbitrary actions by Hungarian authorities.

“Due to the abduction of seven Ukrainian citizens and the theft of property belonging to a Ukrainian state bank in Budapest, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends that Ukrainian citizens refrain from traveling to Hungary due to the inability to guarantee their safety against the backdrop of arbitrary actions by the Hungarian authorities,” the statement said.

The ministry also advised Ukrainians to reconsider travel routes that pass through Hungarian territory.

“If possible, we also ask that alternative transit routes be prioritized, avoiding passage through Hungarian territory,” the statement added.

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Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry further warned Ukrainian and European businesses about potential risks to their assets in Hungary.

“We also draw the attention of Ukrainian and European businesses to the threats of arbitrary seizure of property on the territory of Hungary and recommend taking these risks into account in the context of any business activity in this country,” the ministry stated.

The warning comes after Hungarian authorities stopped an armored banking convoy transporting cash and precious metals from Austria to Ukraine, according to statements from Ukraine’s National Bank and the Foreign Ministry on March 5.

The shipment was part of a routine transfer of valuables between Raiffeisen Bank International in Austria and Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank.

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Ukrainian officials said Hungarian law enforcement halted two armored vehicles belonging to Oschadbank while they were transporting a large volume of foreign currency and bank metals.

GPS data later indicated that the vehicles may currently be located in central Budapest.

According to Oschadbank’s estimates, the convoy was carrying approximately $40 million, €35 million, and about nine kilograms of gold at the time of the detention.

Earlier, it was reported that Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs will summon Hungary’s chargé d’affaires to address reports from Moscow regarding the transfer of Ukrainian prisoners to Hungarian custody.

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