Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) announced on Friday that they have arrested two suspected Hungarian spies, who are allegedly part of a "military intelligence network" operating in the Transcarpathia region in western Ukraine.
"This is the first time in Ukraine’s history that the SBU has uncovered a Hungarian military intelligence network conducting espionage activities against our state," stated the SBU on Telegram, adding that they have detained "two agents from the Hungarian special services network."
According to the SBU, the ‘spies’ were tasked with gathering information on the situation in this region, located hundreds of kilometres from the front line with Russia but bordering Hungary, where an estimated 100,000 people hold Hungarian passports.
The suspects were tasked with transmitting information on the location of Ukrainian military bases and air defence systems, as well as gauging public opinion on the possible deployment of a Hungarian peacekeeping contingent in the territory, the SBU said.
Ukraine. Mykolaiv regional administration after Russian Strike in 2024. (DSNS)
The two suspects, a man and a woman, both former military personnel, were supervised by a "career officer of the Hungarian military intelligence service," according to the SBU.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has had tense relations with Ukraine for years, is one of the few European leaders close to the Kremlin and opposed to any military aid to Kyiv, which has been fighting against the Russian invasion since 2022.
Viktor Orban accuses Kyiv of violating the rights of the Hungarian minority and also opposes Ukraine's accession to the European Union and sanctions against Russia.
In response, Hungary later announced it has expelled two Ukrainian diplomats on Friday, accusing them of espionage, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who made the announcement on Facebook.
The Hungarian minister condemned Kyiv's "ongoing smear campaigns" against Budapest.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has remained largely neutral in his support for Kyiv. He is sceptical about Western military aid and cautious regarding sanctions against Russia.
