The dispute escalated on Friday after Ukraine accused Hungary of briefly detaining a group of Ukrainian bank employees transporting $40 million and nine kilogrammes of gold through the country, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
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Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said Hungary had taken the group “hostage”, but Budapest later announced they would be deported back to Ukraine after a short detention.
Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration – Nemzeti Adó- és Vámhivatal (NAV) said seven Ukrainian citizens were detained on Thursday, including a former Ukrainian secret service general, along with two armoured cash transport vehicles. The agency initially said it would be “conducting criminal proceedings on suspicion of money laundering.”
Ukraine then urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Hungary, citing “the inability to guarantee their safety amid the arbitrary actions of the Hungarian authorities”.
Speaking earlier at a business conference on Thursday, Orban warned Ukraine over the Druzhba dispute.
“We will win, and we will win with force… there will be no compromise whatsoever. We will defeat them, we will wrestle down the oil blockade and force the Ukrainians to resume shipments,” Orban said.
