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Ukraine Says It Uncovered Hungarian Spy Network

Ukraine Says It Uncovered Hungarian Spy Network

Asharq Al-Awsat09-05-2025

Ukraine's SBU security agency said on Friday it had uncovered a spy network being run by the Hungarian state to obtain intelligence about Ukraine's defenses.
In a statement, the SBU said it had detained two suspected agents who, it said, were being run by Hungarian military intelligence.
It said it was the first time in the history of Ukraine that a Hungarian spy network had been found to be working against Kyiv's interests.
There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Hungarian government.
Hungary is part of the European Union and NATO, two blocs with which Ukraine is closely allied in the war it is fighting with Russia.
However, relations between the two countries have often been fraught. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been skeptical about Western military aid for Ukraine.
He has also maintained relations with Vladimir Putin, putting him at odds with most other EU leaders who have sought to isolate the Russian president since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The SBU said the two suspects are former members of the Ukrainian military. It said they were recruited by a handler in Hungarian military intelligence and given cash and special equipment for secret communication.
The agents were tasked with passing on to their handler details about Ukraine's air defense batteries, and other military capabilities in the Transcarpathia region of southern Ukraine, which borders Hungary.

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