Orbán accuses Kyiv of attempted "smear campaign" against Hungary
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused Ukraine's special services of attempting to disrupt a public survey among Hungarians on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
Source: Orbán's statement following the meeting of the Hungarian Defence Council on 13 May, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Orbán described recent actions by Ukraine's security services as an unprecedented attack on Hungary.
He claimed that Ukraine launched a coordinated campaign to discredit Hungary, aiming to undermine the survey on Ukraine's EU membership.
He further alleged that Kyiv enlisted contacts within Hungary, including a Hungarian opposition politician, to execute this campaign and target Hungarian defence forces.
Orbán called this alleged collaboration between Ukraine's special services and a Hungarian opposition party unprecedented in Hungary's memory.
At the same time, he vowed that Hungary would complete its survey on Ukraine's European integration, asserting that neither Brussels nor Kyiv could decide on behalf of the Hungarian people.
Background:
A new escalation in Ukrainian-Hungarian relations began when Ukraine's Security Service (SSU) announced it had uncovered a Hungarian intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast (Transcarpathia) in Ukraine's west.
Subsequently, Hungary expelled two Ukrainian diplomats in response, accusing them of espionage.
Hungary also detained and expelled a former Ukrainian diplomat on Friday 9 May.
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