Putin and Orban discuss Hungarian POWs captured fighting for Ukraine
The Hindu
Putin and Orban discuss Hungarian POWs in Ukraine, highlighting tensions over military recruitment and energy supplies amid the ongoing conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday (March 3, 2026) discussed the issue of Hungarians captured while fighting for Kyiv, the Kremlin said.
Ukraine is home to a large Hungarian minority, mostly living in the western Zakarpattia region.
Mr. Orban is one of the few European leaders to maintain close ties with Russia amid the war in Ukraine and has publicly criticised Kyiv for drafting ethnic Hungarians into its army.
“Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
“Issues concerning Hungarian citizens mobilised into the Ukrainian armed forces and taken prisoner by Russia were also touched on,” it added.
The Russian Defence Ministry published a video last week purporting to show a dual Hungarian-Ukrainian citizen captured as a prisoner of war, alleging he had been forced to enlist in the Ukrainian army.
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