Hungary Detains Ukrainian Bank's Cash Transport, Kyiv Calls Staff Hostages

Hungarian authorities have detained two armored cash-in-transit vehicles belonging to Ukraine's state-owned Oschadbank. The vehicles were transporting significant sums of money and bank metals from Austria to Ukraine.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that the Hungarian authorities in Budapest have taken seven Ukrainian citizens, employees of Oschadbank, hostage and seized the money and valuables. "The reasons for this, as well as their health condition and ability to communicate, remain unknown," Sybiha wrote on social media platform X.

He clarified that the seven individuals were bank staff conducting a regular transport run between Austria and Ukraine as part of standard operations between state banks.

Oschadbank itself issued a statement regarding the incident. According to GPS data cited by the bank, the illegally detained vehicles are currently located in central Budapest near one of Hungary's law enforcement agencies. This location has been confirmed by representatives of the Ukrainian embassy in Hungary and Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The whereabouts of the bank employees themselves remain unknown.

"The location of Oschadbank employees is currently unknown," the bank's statement said.

The incident occurs against a backdrop of escalating tensions between Hungary and Ukraine. On March 2, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán claimed that satellite images proved there were no obstacles to the operation of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which supplies Russian oil to Hungary.

Orbán subsequently posted videos on social media threatening to use force to make Ukraine resume oil transit through its territory. In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that satellites do not show all details and expressed hope that the blocking of a €90 billion EU aid package by "one person" would cease.