Hungarian-Ukrainian relations had been strained since the mid-2010s by issues surrounding the legal status of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia.Continue reading
Hungary has expelled two Ukrainian spies working under diplomatic cover at the Ukrainian Embassy in Budapest, as the government will no longer tolerate Kyiv’s continuous discrediting actions against Hungary, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced in Budapest on Friday.
The past three years have shown that the war in Ukraine is being fought not only on the battlefield, but also in the information space. Anti-Hungarian propaganda is often used without any factual basis. https://t.co/l5x0OscNo4
— Péter Szijjártó (@FM_Szijjarto) May 9, 2025
He said that in parallel with the war in Ukraine, anti-Hungarian propaganda is also on the rise.
Now the latest smear campaign against Hungarians has exactly the same reason as the previous ones.”
“We Hungarians want peace, we say no to war, we have never supplied weapons to Ukraine, and we never will, and we have not allowed and will not allow ourselves to be dragged into this war, to drag Hungary into this war,” he said. “These are the reasons for the smear campaigns launched against Hungary, and they are also the reasons for the smear campaign that the Ukrainians have launched against Hungary and the Hungarians this time,” he continued.
Szijjártó pointed out that the Hungarian people are also preparing to decide whether Ukraine should become a member of the European Union. “We will not tolerate that such smear campaigns are constantly being launched in Ukraine against Hungary and the Hungarian people. That is why today we expelled from Hungary two spies working under diplomatic cover at Ukraine’s embassy in Budapest. We have handed the decision and the note to this effect to Ukraine’s ambassador in Budapest here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the last few minutes.”
Earlier today Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has uncovered an alleged Hungarian military intelligence network spying in western Ukraine — the first such case in the country’s history, Kyiv Post reported. The agents were supposedly gathering data on Zakarpattia’s military defenses, looked for vulnerabilities, and analyzed how locals might react if Hungarian troops entered the region. Two members of the spy network were detained.
Those aware of Hungarian foreign politics and geopolitical aspiration will no doubt understand that Hungary has neither any intention, nor any means to invade Ukraine, or any of its neighbors for that matter. The move from the Zelenskyy government is therefore most likely a diversion from Ukraine’s difficulties on the battlefield, as well as a provocation in response to the Orbán government’s stance on Ukraine’s EU, as well as NATO membership.
Featured Image: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt