Ukrainian intelligence has not found confirmation of reports about the alleged transfer of a group of Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary by the Russian Orthodox Church.
“We monitor information related to Ukrainian prisoners of war, including report that appeared on the website of the so-called Russian Orthodox Church. As of today, there is no official confirmation of these data,” Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense and the Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said in a comment to RBC-Ukraine.
According to him, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, as part of the work of the Coordination Staff on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, contacted Hungarian colleagues – Hungarian diplomats in Kyiv and Moscow, and the Hungarian Foreign Ministry.
“And as of now, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary does not confirm this information. In addition, our Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the Hungarian Vice-Prime Minister for Religious Affairs. And their government, as of now, also does not confirm the information posted on the website of the Russian Orthodox Church,” Yusov said.
The spokesman for the GUR said that this information is also not confirmed by international structures, in particular the International Committee of the Red Cross.
“Besides the so-called Russian Orthodox Church, which operates on the territory of the aggressor state, no other conditionally official structures of the Russian Federation have published or confirmed data on the alleged transfer of our prisoners of war to another country,” Yusov emphasized.
The report may be fake.
That is, according to the representative of the GUR, either this information is generally not true, or it was part of a psyop. Russia seeks to restore the reputation of the Russian Orthodox Church in Europe.
“Whether such a transfer actually took place is currently being verified,” interlocutor claims.
In turn, he noted that the GUR had information about a special operation, an information and psychological operation, which was prepared by the Russian special services with the participation of a religious organization of the aggressor state, the Russian Orthodox Church.
“Its goal was to restore the reputation and raise their image on the territory of the European Union. Unfortunately, the Russian Federation continues to use the most sensitive topics, in particular the fate of prisoners of war, not to solve humanitarian issues and fulfill international obligations, but to conduct certain informational and psychological operations,” Yusov emphasized.
He reminded that the only body in Ukraine authorized to deal with the return and exchange of prisoners of war is the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which complies with the Geneva Conventions.
“Formally, a similar structure operates on the territory of the Russian Federation. But there was no activity on their part regarding this situation,” says Yusov.
In conclusion, he added that the majority of Ukrainian defenders who are currently in Russian captivity consider themselves Orthodox.
“And we hope and insist that there should be equal treatment for all prisoners of war, regardless of their religious faith, ethnic or regional origin. Actually, this is exactly the civilized approach that Ukraine is demonstrating today to the implementation of international humanitarian law,” concluded the representative of the HUR.
As reported, the Russian Orthodox Church announced the transfer of Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary.
In this way, the Russian Orthodox Church wants to restore the lost legitimacy of the Russian Church, against which broad international sanctions have been imposed, as well as to delegitimize the very process of POW exchange.
Russia also plans to play the so-called “Hungarian card” and actualize the trumped-up problems of the alleged “Zakarpattia separatism”.
Previously, in an interview with the Spiritual Front of Ukraine, historian Vladyslav Havrylov spoke about the involvement of the Russian Orthodox Church in the deportation of Ukrainians, including children.
