Budapest, May 19 (MTI) – An unidentified armed group has taken a Hungarian man captive in Ukraine, Hungary’s counter-terrorism force TEK told MTI today.
The man, a Hungarian citizen, was taken captive under unclear circumstances in eastern Ukraine, TEK said in a statement. The man was travelling in a car with Hungarian licence plates in a conflict zone in eastern Ukraine and was captured by unknown gunmen according to verified information, said TEK.
“As the area is the scene of armed conflict, a special unit of TEK has travelled to Ukraine without delay in line with international rules and protocol,” it said.
The group supervising and commanding the TEK unit’s operation and led by the director of TEK has contacted Ukrainian authorities and continues coordination with the Hungarian foreign ministry on the matter, TEK said.
The man holds a Hungarian passport and he is employed by a Ukrainian firm, said Janos Hajdu, the director of TEK, in a TV programme on Monday evening. He was carrying out his duties when he “ended up in a wrong place,” in the conflict zone, Hajdu told commercial ATV, adding that the case is not regarded as “classical hostage taking as so far no demand for a ransom had been made by anybody for the man’s release.” Information about the man’s capture by an armed group had been obtained in an operational way and not from his family, he said. The identity of the armed people has so far not been established, the TEK unit is working on starting talks first with local partner organisations, he said.
Hajdu said they contacted the man’s family and they were doing their best to bring him home.
Photo: vaci-naplo.hu