Ukraine Opens Criminal Case Over Granting Hungarian Passports In Zakarpattia - Prosecutor

The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) opened a criminal case over the mass granting of Hungarian passports in the city of Berehove located in the western region of Zakarpattia bordering Hungary, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said on Thursday.

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2018) The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) opened a criminal case over the mass granting of Hungarian passports in the city of Berehove located in the western region of Zakarpattia bordering Hungary, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said on Thursday.

Last week, the Ukrinform news agency reported that the Hungarian consulate located in the border city of Berehove granted citizenship to Ukrainian nationals instructing them not to notify the Ukrainian authorities of that. Hungary has issued over 100,000 passports to residents of the Zakarpattia region, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. The Ukrainian legislation bans dual citizenship while Budapest maintains that it has the right to issue passports to Ukrainians of Hungarian origin.

"The relevant case was opened. The Ukrainian Security Service is conducting an investigation ... Acquisition of dual citizenship is categorically banned by the Ukrainian constitution. If [facts of] dual citizenship are confirmed, that should be punished," Lutsenko told the Pryamoy broadcaster.

The situation around granting Hungarian passports in Zakarpattia resulted in the escalation of tensions between Kiev and Budapest. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin stated that Kiev intended to expel the consul from the country. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called the move unfriendly and threatened to hamper Kiev's integration with the European Union.