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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Hungary of detaining seven employees of Ukrainian state bank Oschadbank along with a large amount of cash and gold.
According to Oschadbank, a van carrying personnel and some $75 million dollars was intercepted in central Budapest. The vehicle was transporting cash from Austria to Ukraine. Kyiv says it has lost all contact with the bank’s staff on the van.
The incident signals a dramatic escalation in the troubled relation between the two countries, a day after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded accusations and implied the use of force if necessary.
“In Budapest, Hungarian authorities took seven Ukrainian citizens hostage,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Sybiha said in a post on X. “In fact, we are talking about Hungary taking hostages and stealing money,” he added.
Oschadbank has released a statement calling for the release of its employees and describing Hungary’s actions as unjustified.
“Oschadbank demands the immediate release of its employees and property and their return to Ukraine,” the statement said.
According to the bank, the trucks carried $40 million, €35 million and 9kg of gold. It added that convoy was organised in agreement with Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank.
“The cargo was registered in accordance with international transportation rules and current European customs procedures.”
Hungarian authorities have not reacted to the claims.
Budapest and Kyiv are locked in a bitter row over the shutdown of the Druzhba pipeline carrying cheap Russian oil to Hungary through Ukraine. The pipeline was struck in a suspected Russian attack in late January and has not been repaired since.
Hungary has accused Ukraine of using the issue for political blackmail.
On Thursday, Orbán suggested Hungary would get the oil flows back and vowed to end he described as a “blockade” by force if necessary. Zelensky snapped back saying he could send Ukrainian soldiers and “let them speak to him in their own language”.
Hungary is preparing for parliamentary elections in April.