Zelenskyy addresses Hungarian spy network in Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has clarified that Ukraine publicised the exposure of the Hungarian intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast to demonstrate that he was aware of their presence.
Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with the Hungarian publication Válasz Online, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Zelenskyy was asked whether he could envisage the de-escalation of tensions following the announcement by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) about uncovering a Hungarian informant network in Zakarpattia.
He replied that "there is no problem if we respect each other."
Read also: Orbán seeks "war" between Hungary and Ukraine: why, and what are the dangers?
"Budapest has tried to interfere in Ukrainian internal affairs in dozens of different ways. You could not have heard about these. We stopped the illegal distribution of passports in Zakarpattia before the war. Most of the cases were dealt with quietly, among ourselves," the president said.
"Why did we make the current case public? We have additional photos and videos of various meetings organised by the Hungarian Military National Security Service (KNBSZ) on Hungarian territory, which we will also publish if necessary. I don't want to threaten anyone, but we do have everything in our possession. This includes how KNBSZ paid its intelligence asset. We have documented everything," Zelenskyy said.
He noted that the exposed agent network had been in operation since 2021, with the most recent information transfer taking place on 25 March 2025.
Zelenskyy posed rhetorical questions about why Hungarian intelligence might need details on Ukrainian air defence locations, military units and local sentiment regarding potential Hungarian "peacekeepers".
"How should we respond to this in times of war? I am not saying that Budapest wants something, but if it does not, then to whom is it gathering information? I asked NATO officials whether they had asked the Hungarians to collect data on such matters. They replied that they had not. I am the president of a country at war – how would you have reacted if you were in my place?" Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that he does not blame Viktor Orbán, but rather the KNBSZ.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Atlantic
2 hours ago
- Atlantic
Fathers Don't Just Protect—They Prepare
My grandfather was born in 1882 in the small Ukrainian town of Zawale, which was part of the vast, multiethnic Austro-Hungarian empire. In 1914, this mega-state, like so many European nations, threw itself into a world war with frenzied enthusiasm. My grandfather later told my father how puzzled he had been to watch thousands of happy young men—really still just boys—boarding trains in Vienna, cheering as they went off to what was almost certainly their death. He did not volunteer, he avoided conscription, and he survived. His son, my father, was born in Vienna in 1927. He was 6 years old when Adolf Hitler became the chancellor of Germany. Austria still had a few years of freedom left, and my grandfather used them well: Because an archive had burned down, several of his family documents had to be reissued. Through skillful manipulation, he managed to turn himself from a Jew into what the Nazis would later classify as a 'half Jew.' And as Germany's annexation of Austria became inevitable, he came up with an especially daring idea: In a court proceeding, he had his wife, my grandmother, declared the illegitimate daughter of the janitor in her parents' building. He bribed witnesses who testified that her mother had had an affair with that janitor. It worked: My grandmother was officially declared the daughter of an Aryan. And as a result, my family survived. This Father's Day, I find myself reflecting not only on paternal love but on paternal foresight—the clarity and focus it takes to see what others might not, to act before the danger has a name. Raising children is always a challenge, but never more so than in times of deep insecurity about what the future will look like. To meet that challenge, it can help to look at the generations that came before. Anne Applebaum: This is what Trump does when his revolution sputters Despite my grandfather's efforts, life for my father quickly changed under the Nazis. In swimming school, two boys nearly drowned him while the lifeguard looked on, grinning. When my father finally emerged, gasping for breath, the lifeguard laughed and said, 'Can't swim, Jew?' Around the same time, the man who lived in the neighboring house began watching my father and his sister with dark, brooding looks. But only after Hitler's army had entered Austria did he begin shouting, each and every time they passed: 'Jewwws!' My father would recount these events with amused detachment. He had already learned as a teenager to recognize the profound absurdity of Nazism—the deep, grotesque nonsense of what Charlie Chaplin and Ernst Lubitsch were turning into dark political comedies at the same time in Hollywood. A few months later, two men came to my grandparents and ordered them to leave their house with their children. They moved into a small apartment, and their home was 'bought'—at a tiny, symbolic price—by the 'Jewww'-shouting neighbor. Corruption is the most corrosive force in a democracy, but in a dictatorship it can save you. Once a month, a Gestapo officer would appear at my grandparents' apartment and take something valuable—a piece of furniture, a porcelain plate, a painting. In return, the file on my grandparents would sink a little lower in the stack on his desk. At my father's school, the boys had to line up, and all those tall enough were asked—in fact, ordered—to volunteer for the SS. My father raised his hand and said, 'Requesting permission to report—I'm one-quarter Jewish!' To which the SS man shouted in disgust, 'Step back!' And so my father was spared from becoming a war criminal in Hitler's service. In almost every situation, having Jewish ancestry was a mortal danger. But in this one instance, it became his salvation. In the final months of the war, my father was arrested after all and spent three months in a concentration camp close to Vienna, constantly at risk of death. But after the war had ended, there was still a striking atmosphere of leniency toward the perpetrators. When he went to the local police station to give a statement about his time in the camp, he was met with scornful dismissiveness. 'It wasn't really that bad, was it?' the officer asked. 'Aren't we exaggerating a little?' It was then that my father decided to move from Austria to Germany, paradoxically—because there, under pressure from the occupying powers, some reckoning with the past was taking place. Austria, meanwhile, had successfully cast itself as the war's first victim. Timothy W. Ryback: Hitler used a bogus crisis of 'public order' to make himself dictator I tell my son, who never met his grandfather (as I never met mine), that my father was obsessed throughout his life with the idea that what had happened once could happen again—not just to Jews, but to anyone. Of course, my son, raised in a seemingly stable world, feels profoundly safe. And that's a good thing. But we are currently living in the United States, a country that for my grandfather was a refuge impossible to reach, but that is currently in the throes of what some serious scholars now describe as an authoritarian power grab. And even in Germany, where we could easily return, a right-wing extremist party is now so strong that it might come in first in the next election. So I think about the responsibility of raising a child in a time when the future is impossible to predict. I think, more and more, of my grandfather, who in 1914 watched people plunge into war hysteria and decided to resist their excitement, and who would later take very unconventional steps—steps that would, after history took a turn for the worse, ensure his family's survival. My grandfather understood the psychology of fanaticism very early; my father understood the stupidity and mediocrity of the people whom the dictatorship empowered, without mistaking them for harmless clowns. Now, as we watch society once again take a dangerous turn—as books are banned, people are sent to foreign prisons without even a court order, and soldiers are deployed against protesters—I wonder what stories my future grandchildren will one day need to remember. Memory is not a picture book; it's a tool. And fatherhood, especially in times like these, is not just about protection. It is about preparation.
USA Today
18 hours ago
- USA Today
Trump says Putin called to wish him a happy birthday ‒ and talk about Iran
Trump says Putin called to wish him a happy birthday ‒ and talk about Iran Trump, who turns 79 on June 14, said: 'President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday, but to more importantly, talk about Iran.' Show Caption Hide Caption 'No Kings Day' rallies counter Trump's Flag Day military parade In all 50 states, grassroots groups are organizing "No Kings Day" rallies to oppose Donald Trump's military parade, set to take place on his birthday. WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin called to wish him a happy birthday and talk about the war between Israel and Iran, which Trump said "should end." Trump relayed his morning phone call with Putin in a June 14 post on Truth Social. The conversation occurred before Trump is set to mark his 79th birthday in the evening by attending a military parade on the streets of Washington D.C. to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. "President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday, but to more importantly, talk about Iran, a country he knows very well. We talked at length," Trump said in the post. More: 'They didn't die of the flu': Trump says Iran nuke deal 'hardliners' killed in strikes Trump said Putin "feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end." Nevertheless, Trump said he and Putin spent "much less time" talking about Russia's war in Ukraine during the approximately one-hour call. He said that topic "will be for next week." Trump has embraced a friendly relationship with Putin, a stark departure from former President Joe Biden who helped rally much of the world to condemn the Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Trump has blamed both Putin, long considered a U.S. adversary, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for their countries' war. More: Iran launches missile counterattack on Israel after punishing airstrikes In response to Israel's June 13 airstrikes on Iran targeting nuclear sites, Iran launched three retaliatory waves of missiles at targets in Israel as Israelis rode out the attacks in bomb shelters and world leaders discussed the deepening conflict. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed the call between the world leaders, telling reporters, "Vladimir Putin condemned Israel's military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East." According to Ushakov, Trump described events in the Middle East as "very alarming." The two leaders also said they do not rule out a return to the negotiating track on Iran's nuclear program, Ushakov said. Trump told Reuters on June 13 his administration knew about Israel's plans to attack Iran beforehand. He said he gave Iran a 60-day deadline to agree to a revised nuclear deal with the U.S. After a deal was not reached, Israel attacked on the 61st day. "We knew everything, and I tried to save Iran humiliation and death. I tried to save them very hard because I would have loved to have seen a deal worked out," Trump said. "They can still work out a deal, however, it's not too late." Contributing: Reuters Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
Axios
18 hours ago
- Axios
What to know about the G7 summit Trump is attending
Group of Seven leaders, including President Trump, will gather in Canada on Sunday. The big picture: The meeting will take place on the heels of Israel's attack on Iran, while the U.S. faces deepening divides with other allies over Gaza, Ukraine and his sweeping tariffs, especially the one between the U.S. and Canada. When and where is the 2025 G7 summit? The 51st summit will take place from Sunday to Tuesday in Alberta, Canada. It will be held in the remote resort town of Kananaskis, which previously hosted a G8 summit in 2002. Who will attend the G7 summit? The G7 includes leaders from the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and Britain. The European Union is typically also in attendance, along with other heads of state who aren't a part of the Group of Seven but were invited by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed he'll be there, with a meeting expected between him and Trump months after their last in-person meeting during Pope Francis' funeral. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum will be present and said she, too, plans to meet with Trump. First-timers will include German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Canada and U.S. tensions Trump is traveling to Canada after repeatedly threatening the northern neighbor's sovereignty. Flashback: During his first term, Trump blew up the G7 meeting in 2018, which was also held in Canada, tearing up an agreement reached by the world leaders.
