Russia to free two Hungarian-Ukrainian POWs, Putin says

Russia will release two Ukrainian–Hungarian nationals captured while fighting for Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán appealed for their release during a phone call.

At a meeting with Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó in Moscow, Putin said the two soldiers had been “forcibly conscripted” by Ukraine and that he had personally decided to free them.

“As the prime minister requested, you will be able to take them with you on the plane you arrived on and the plane you will return to Budapest on,” Putin told Szijjártó.

Hungary is among the few European countries maintaining close ties with Russia amid the war in Ukraine and has consistently opposed providing military aid to Kyiv.

Ukraine is home to a large Hungarian minority, most of whom live in the western Zakarpattia region and hold dual citizenship.

The Russian defence ministry published a video last week purporting to show a dual Hungarian–Ukrainian prisoner of war, claiming he had been forced to enlist in the Ukrainian army.

During the meeting, Szijjártó also urged Moscow not to raise energy prices after fighting in the Middle East – triggered by joint US–Israeli strikes on Iran – sent markets into turmoil.

“I came here to receive assurances and obtain a guarantee that, even amid the current crisis, the quantities of natural gas and crude oil necessary for Hungary’s energy security will be available and delivered to Hungary from Russia at the same price,” Szijjártó said.

Putin said Russia was willing to discuss the energy issue.

“Not everything depends on us, but I repeat, we have always been reliable suppliers,” he told Szijjártó.

Hungary is the European Union’s largest importer of Russian fossil fuels, having continued purchases and secured exemptions from sanctions despite pressure from Brussels during the Ukraine war.

Budapest has already been facing disruption following the closure of the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian oil to Hungary and which Ukraine says was damaged in a Russian strike in January.

Hungary and Slovakia, along with the Kremlin, accuse Kyiv of deliberately delaying its reopening. Kyiv says the risk of another attack is holding up repairs.