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Diplomatic tensions between Ukraine and Hungary are continuing to escalate following mutual expulsions of diplomats over accusations of spying.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you’re unaware, Ukraine and Hungary have not had the most friendly relationship to say the least, mainly due to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s stance toward Kyiv. Orbán has repeatedly criticized Ukraine, accusing it of oppressing the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority in the country. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Orbán has maintained close ties with President Putin, frequently breaking with the EU consensus by opposing military aid to Ukraine and sanction packages against Moscow. In one of the most significant standoffs, Orbán threatened to block a €50 billion EU aid package for Ukraine, leveraging Hungary’s veto power. While he initially succeeded in delaying the vote, EU leaders ultimately overrode the blockade in early 2024 by using a legal workaround that bypassed Hungary’s objections. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has publicly criticized Orbán for his stance on the war, at one point confronting him directly at an EU summit, urging him to “be on the right side of history.“
What’s going on now: In a notable development, both Hungary and Ukraine have expelled two diplomats each in an escalation of tensions tied to allegations of espionage. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) announced last week that it had uncovered a Hungarian spy network operating in the Zakarpattia region, a western area of Ukraine that borders Hungary and is home to a Hungarian ethnic minority. According to Ukrainian authorities, the network was supervised by Hungarian military intelligence and had been tasked with gathering sensitive data on the Ukrainian Armed Forces, including air and ground defense vulnerabilities, local government infrastructure, and the sociopolitical attitudes of residents toward a possible Hungarian military presence. The suspects—a 40-year-old man and a woman, both former Ukrainian military personnel—were arrested and charged with state treason.
Ukraine also claimed that one of the agents had been recruited in 2021 and activated in September 2024, receiving communication tools and cash from Hungary. The SBU noted that this marked the first time a NATO member’s intelligence network had been dismantled on Ukrainian soil.
In retaliation for what it called “provocative and hostile actions,” Hungary expelled two Ukrainian diplomats. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó condemned Ukraine’s allegations as “anti-Hungarian propaganda” and denied the existence of any espionage activities directed by his country.
In a video statement, Szijjártó claimed that Ukraine had launched a smear campaign against Hungary due to its refusal to support Kyiv militarily in its war against Russia. He also said that the expelled Ukrainian diplomats had been operating as spies under diplomatic cover at the Ukrainian embassy in Budapest.
