Ukraine arrests spies working for NATO's Hungary - whose leader is sympathetic to Putin and Russia

Daily Mail​

09-05-2025

Ukraine has arrested members of a spy ring it said was gathering military intelligence for EU and NATO member Hungary, triggering speculation that Russian-aligned Prime Minister Viktor Orban could be plotting an incursion.
The SBU security service detained two alleged spies it claimed had sought to obtain information about the Ukrainian military, including the location of air defence systems, in the western region of Zakarpattia.
'For the first time in Ukraine's history, the Security Service has exposed a Hungarian military intelligence network that was conducting espionage activities to the detriment of our state,' the SBU said in a statement.
The detainees are a 40-year-old man and a woman, both ex-soldiers with Ukrainian nationality. Kyiv claims they were supervised by a 'career Hungarian intelligence officer'.
They both now face up to life in prison on charges of high treason.
The SBU added that in addition to gathering military intelligence, the alleged spies were were studying 'the socio-political views of local residents, in particular, scenarios of their behaviour if Hungarian troops entered the region'.
Hungarian officials swiftly rebuffed the accusations as Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto urged 'everyone to be wary of any such Ukrainian propaganda'.
'If we get any details or official information, then we will be able to address this, but until then I have to classify this as propaganda that should be treated with caution,' he told reporters in Budapest.
Despite its membership to EU and NATO, Hungary under Orban maintains strong relations with the Kremlin.
Orban has refused to provide Kyiv with military aid and rejected European plans to phase out Russian energy imports while decrying the West's 'irrational' attempts to isolate Moscow.
Meanwhile, Zakarpattia - a region of Western Ukraine in the Carpathian mountains bordering Hungary, Romania, Poland and Slovakia, remains a point of tension between Kyiv and Budapest.
According to the last official census in 2001, around 150,000 ethnic Hungarians lived in Zakarpattia and right-wing members of Hungary's political elite have insisted the region should be a Hungarian protectorate rather than part of Ukraine.
Orban's government and Kyiv have also clashed over the community's language and cultural rights.
The SBU provided a detailed account of the alleged spies action in the statement released this morning.
It claimed the male spy was gathering intelligence about Ukrainian military installations while also recruiting informants in Zakarpattia.
He is said to have crossed into Hungary from Ukraine to report to his Hungarian handler by presenting a document that claimed he was the named caretaker of his sick father who required medical treatment abroad.
This had reportedly enabled him to exit Ukraine even with martial law and travel restrictions for military aged males in effect.
'In March this year, the SSU Counterintelligence documented the second meeting between the agent and his handler. This time, he received a phone with special software for covert communication.
'His new tasks included identifying cars belonging to servicemen of the Security and Defence Forces in Zakarpattia region; finding and passing to the Hungarian special service data on losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the war and current developments on the front line,' the SBU claimed.
The other detainee facing high treason charges is a former servicewoman of the Security and Defence Forces of Ukraine, who left her unit earlier this year.
'Her tasks included informing the Hungarian special service on the presence of aircraft and helicopters in Zakarpattia region, as well as on the defence systems of the military unit where she had served,' the SBU said.