Latest news with #Ukraine-related
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
The Hungary-Ukraine spy scandal and Russia's possible role, explained
Ukraine's rocky relationship with Hungary reached new lows this month with the uncovering of an alleged spy ring run from Budapest. Arrests, tit-for-tat expulsions, and a stream of accusations from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban soon followed in a diplomatic scandal with potentially massive ramifications for both countries. "This is probably the most-discussed Ukraine-related news (in Hungary) since the beginning of the full-scale invasion," Andras Racz, a senior fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) Center for Security and Defense, told the Kyiv Independent. "It's truly unprecedented," he added. Adding to the intrigue are the questions looming over the motives of the alleged spies, who were allegedly tasked with gathering sensitive military information that would be highly valuable to one country in particular — Russia. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) on May 9 said it had uncovered a Hungarian espionage network in western Ukraine in what was the first case of its kind. SBU counterintelligence detained two alleged agents and identified their supervisor as a Hungarian military intelligence officer. According to the SBU, one of those detained is a 40-year-old former Ukrainian military officer who was recruited by Hungarian intelligence in 2021 and placed in standby mode. Kyiv has long accused Budapest of undermining Ukraine's sovereignty through political interference and pursuing an active policy of issuing Hungarian passports to ethnic Hungarians in the region. They claim he was "activated" in September 2024 when he began to conduct reconnaissance on the deployment of Ukrainian Armed Forces and the coordinates of S-300 air defense systems in the region. The spies' tasks also included identifying official vehicles belonging to Ukraine's army, and gathering data on the presence of aircraft and helicopters in Zakarpattia Oblast. They were also tasked with gauging local attitudes to various scenarios including the deployment of a Hungarian "peacekeeping contingent." At the center of the spy scandal is Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast, a region that has long been home to a large ethnic Hungarian minority that numbered 70,000-80,000 in 2024. Relations between Ukraine and Hungary have been historically strained because of issues relating to Zakarpattia Oblast — Kyiv has long accused Budapest of undermining Ukraine's sovereignty through political interference and pursuing an active policy of issuing Hungarian passports to ethnic Hungarians in the region. In turn, Budapest accuses Kyiv of discriminating against the Hungarian ethnic minority there, especially over Ukraine's language laws that require at least 70% of education above fifth grade to be conducted in Ukrainian. While Budapest has called this measure discriminatory toward the Hungarian minority, Kyiv denies it is discriminatory, saying it only aims to ensure that every Ukrainian citizen has sufficient knowledge of the country's official language. These issues have taken on extra significance since the start of Ukraine's accession talks which formally launched in June 2024. Hungary — which as an existing member of the EU holds veto power over accession decisions — has held up the process, citing discrimination against its Hungarian minority as a key obstacle. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused Ukraine of collaborating with his political opposition, Tisza party leader Peter Magyar, to orchestrate a campaign to discredit him ahead of a planned referendum on Kyiv's EU membership. The day before the SBU announcement, Magyar released an audio recording of a 2023 conversation in which Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky talks of preparing the country's military for war — the opposite of what he and Orban had been saying in public, Magyar said. "Thus, the Hungarian opposition party took an active part in the special operation of the Ukrainian secret service," Orban said on May 13, adding: "Such a thing has never happened in our memory." Budapest also on May 9 expelled what it claimed were two "spies" working under diplomatic cover at Ukraine's embassy in Budapest, a move met with reciprocal expulsions by Kyiv. Another two Ukrainian "spies" were allegedly uncovered on May 20. After the scandal, Hungarian Deputy Foreign Minister Levente Magyar refused to come to Ukraine on May 12 for planned talks about the Hungarian national minority, Ukraine's Justice Ministry said on May 11. According to Racz, just the fact that Ukraine's SBU went public with the information is in itself significant. "Usually, espionage-related affairs are handled in a silent, non-public way. Even if there are expulsions, usually both sides are interested in minimizing tensions and the damage inflicted," Racz said. "Why would Budapest need the location and exact type of the air defense systems so much that they specifically instructed one of the agents to go there and take pictures of the installations? [...] I find no other plausible answer than Russia." And the timing of the announcement may also have been deliberate — according to Viktor Yahun, former deputy head of the SBU, the release of the information on May 9, Russia's Victory Day, was to "show once again how close the contacts and intentions of Hungary and Russia are." Complicating matters further is the fact that Orban is widely seen as the EU's most pro-Russian leader, and has repeatedly opposed military aid for Ukraine, arguing that Western support prolongs the war. He has maintained close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, holding official meetings despite the full-scale invasion and amplified Kremlin narratives in Europe. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has visited Russia 13 times in the past three years, far more than any other EU diplomat, and even more than some of Russia's closest allies. Read also: Hungarian FM visits Moscow, eyes further economic cooperation with Russia Largely because of this, Hungary has shifted into a "gray zone" regarding intelligence sharing with EU countries, Vitalii Diachuk, the Institute for Central European Strategy (ICES) analyst, told the Kyiv Independent. The intelligence exchange process became more formalized, and Hungary ceased receiving analytical intelligence from NATO and EU countries, and stopped providing any of its own intelligence related to Russia, he added. Diachuk said there was nothing irregular about a country collecting general intelligence on its neighbors "especially when there is a war going on," but said a line would be crossed if that information "poses a threat to Ukraine's national security." The SBU's claim that Hungarian spies were collecting information about Ukraine's air defenses would most certainly cross this line, Racz said "If the SBU's claims are well-grounded… then it is very hard to imagine why this information would be relevant for Hungary," he added. "Why would Budapest need the location and exact type of the air defense systems so much that they specifically instructed one of the agents to go there and take pictures of the installations?" Given the highly unlikely scenario that Hungary is planning to attack Ukraine and thus needs to know where its air defenses are located, the remaining possible explanations are limited. "At present, unfortunately, I find no other plausible answer than Russia," Racz said. Yahun told the Kyiv Independent that it's within the realm of possibility that Orban was acting under the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Some of my colleagues have said that it is possible that during Orban's meeting with Putin (in July 2024), he could have persuaded Orban to exchange some intelligence information that is sensitive to Hungary and Russia," Yahun said. Yahun also said it's unlikely that Orban didn't know about the spying operation given his closeness to Major General Norbert Tajti, the head of Hungary's Military National Security Service (KNBSZ). Before his appointment, he served in Hungary's Joint Forces Command and as Orban's aide in the Prime Minister's Office. "(Tajti) had been a personal assistant to Orban for three years. This means that this person is completely devoted to Orban, and any actions on his part could not have been operated independently," Yahun said. Racz also said that Orban's explanation — that the entire thing was an orchestrated campaign between Ukraine and his political opposition — is unlikely as Orban would not have missed the opportunity to present solid evidence and "frame Peter Magyar's Tisza party as a Ukrainian agent." The Kyiv Independent contacted the SBU to ask how long the alleged Hungarian spying operation had been ongoing, and if it was broader than just the two individuals already detained. "All information about the investigation that is currently permitted to be made public has already been posted on the official resources of the (SBU)," it said in a written statement. Read also: Ukraine attacks elite Russian unit base nearly 7,000km away in Vladivostok, source claims We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The Guardian
03-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: Russia attacks Kharkiv with drone barrage, injuring 46
Russia launched a mass drone attack on Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv late on Friday, hitting a high-rise apartment block, triggering fires and injuring 46 people, officials said. There were strikes in 12 locations in four central districts of the city, the mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said on Telegram. Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the attacks, saying dozens of drones had been launched and issuing a fresh appeal to beef up Ukraine's air defence capability. 'There were no military targets, nor could there be any,' the Ukrainian president said on Telegram. 'Russia strikes dwellings when Ukrainians are in their homes, when they are putting their children to bed.' Terekhov said a house had also been hit in the city, 30km from the country's north-eastern border, and an 11-year-old child was among those hurt. The number of injured could rise, said the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov. The US state department has approved the potential sale of F-16 training and sustainment as well as related equipment to Ukraine for $310m, the Pentagon said. Friday's move comes just days after Ukraine and the US signed a much-discussed agreement to share proceeds from the sale of Ukrainian minerals and rare earths and fund investment in Ukraine's reconstruction. Ukraine has previously received F-16 jets from US allies under a jet transfer authorised by former president Joe Biden's administration, while Trump paused all Ukraine-related military aid shortly after taking office. Ukraine's parliament will hold a vote on 8 May to ratify the minerals deal, a legislator said on Friday, while the prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, suggested the agreement would help Kyiv with air defences. 'This agreement will allow us to better defend our country here and now – to better protect our skies thanks to American air defence systems,' Shmyhal said at the governmental meeting. Ukraine's internal security agency accused Russian intelligence of orchestrating an attempt to assassinate a prominent Ukrainian blogger, accusing a 45-year-old woman of carrying out the failed hit. The attempt to kill internet personality Serhii Sternenko, who once led the local chapter of a rightwing group but is now better known in Ukraine for crowdfunding donations for military drones, took place on Thursday. The SBU security agency said on Telegram on Friday that the woman – whom it did not name – had fired several shots with a pistol, one of which hit Sternenko in the leg. The blogger said there was no danger to his life. The woman's lawyer said in court that she did not contest the facts of the case. Russia's FSB security service and its military intelligence agency did not immediately reply to Reuters requests for comment on the SBU's allegations. Four people were injured in a Russian joint drone and artillery attack on localities east of Nikopol in south-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, regional authorities said. In southern Ukraine's Kherson region, a village resident died when a fallen drone exploded as he was trying to carry it away from a house. Russia's defence ministry said on Friday its forces were continuing to create a 'security strip' in border areas of northern Ukraine's Sumy region after driving Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk region, just across the border in western Russia. Ukraine says its forces still have a foothold in Kursk but it is concerned about a possible Russian advance into Sumy. Two Majors, a pro-Russian war blogger, said Russia was developing an offensive from Zhuravka to Bilovody, two villages just over the border in Sumy. The reports could not be verified. People from the west African nation of Togo have been captured and detained by Ukrainian armed forces after taking part 'in military operations alongside Russian armed forces', Togolese authorities said Friday. The 'majority of compatriots, in particular young students, had left Togo under alleged scholarships offered by structures claiming to be based in Russia', the foreign ministry said in a statement. The Martin Luther King Movement, Togo's leading human rights organisation, alerted authorities in March to the case of a Togolese student captured on the battlefield and imprisoned in Ukraine. US officials have finalised new economic sanctions against Russia, including banking and energy measures, to intensify pressure on Moscow to embrace Donald Trump's efforts to end its war on Ukraine, according to three US officials and a source familiar with the issue. Reuters reports the targets include state-owned Russian energy company Gazprom and major entities involved in the natural resources and banking sectors, one official said, requesting anonymity. But it was not clear if the package would get Trump's approval, the official said. Greek authorities have remanded in custody a man suspected of photographing supply convoys on behalf of Russia in the Greek port city of Alexandroupolis, a judicial source said. The 59-year-old Greek man of Georgian descent was arrested Tuesday and taken before an investigating magistrate for a hearing on Friday. A police source alleged to Agence France-Presse that the suspect was targeting military convoys to Ukraine, according to footage retrieved from his mobile phone. But during Friday's hearing the suspect said he had 'done nothing illegal', according to a judicial source.
Russia Today
02-05-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
EU to tap frozen Russian funds
Belgium-based clearing house Euroclear is set redistribute around €3 billion ($3.4 billion) of frozen Russian funds, Reuters reported on Friday. The money will reportedly be used to compensate Western investors whose assets are stranded in Russia. The Kremlin has repeatedly warned that doing so would amount to 'theft,' contravening international law. A number of Western states froze an estimated €264 billion worth of Russian sovereign and private funds following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Around €200 billion is currently held by Euroclear. The assets have already generated billions in interest, of which €1.55 billion was transferred to Ukraine in July 2024. Euroclear will redistribute €3 billion from a pool of €10 billion in cash belonging to Russian entities and individuals blacklisted by the EU as part of Ukraine-related sanctions, according to two sources cited by the news agency. 'We received authorization from our competent authority to unfreeze the compensation amounts and make these available to our participants,' Reuters cites a briefing document dated April 1 as saying. The agency noted that changes to the bloc's sanctions regime, adopted late last year, allow for these disbursements to Western investors. According to two Reuters sources, Moscow has recently seized €3 billion held by Euroclear at a depository in Russia to compensate Russian investors affected by Western sanctions. In November, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that Moscow would use the income from the frozen assets of Western investors in response to similar actions by the West. The issue of confiscating frozen Russian assets has been debated by EU lawmakers for more than three years, but member states have so far failed to arrive at a consensus. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has repeatedly called for the funds to be tapped and transferred to support Ukraine's reconstruction. Last month, she acknowledged that some member states still oppose the move. The Russian authorities have initiated around 100 court actions against Euroclear, one source told Reuters, without providing details on their status. Moscow has condemned the asset freeze, arguing that it violates international law and undermines the global financial system. The Kremlin previously stated that it plans to launch legal action against those involved in the seizure of its assets.
The Guardian
02-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Russian attacks continue as US readies new equipment sale for Ukraine
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Jakub Krupa Russian strikes wounded more than 30 people in Ukraine overnight, AFP reported, a day after Kyiv and Washington signed a landmark minerals deal. Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Photograph: Reuters The Russian attacks continue amid growing signs from Washington that the Trump administration will approve its first sale of military equipment to Ukraine since Donald Trump took office, in an indication that the minerals deal signed by the two countries this week may open a path to renewed weapons shipments. The state department has certified a proposed licence to export '$50m or more' (£37.6m) of defence hardware and services to Ukraine, according to a communication sent to the US committee on foreign relations. My colleagues Shaun Walker and Andrew Roth noted that it would mark the first permission of its kind since Trump paused all Ukraine-related military aid shortly after taking office. Amid all of this, a sudden departure of Mike Waltz from the post of US national security adviser will prompt further questions about what to expect from the Trump administration, with state secretary Marco Rubio taking the role on an interim basis. Elsewhere, with large parts of Europe in bank holiday weekend mode, I don't expect too many story lines elsewhere. Still, I will bring you all the updates that matter – including on Romania's upcoming presidential election, with the first round voting taking place this Sunday. It's Friday, 2 May 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning. Share
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy hails ‘historic' minerals deal as an equal partnership with US
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has hailed the long-discussed minerals deal with the US as , and suggested it had been much improved during those talks to now become 'an equal partnership'. In his nightly address, he said: 'The agreement has changed significantly during the preparation process. It is now truly an equal partnership – one that creates opportunities for substantial investment in Ukraine, as well as significant modernisation of Ukraine's industries and, equally importantly, its legal practices.' He said the deal was the result of a 'meaningful meeting' with Donald Trump at the Vatican on the fringes of Pope Francis's funeral service and that he looks forward to the further results arising from that meeting. Related: Cautious optimism in Ukraine over minerals deal with Trump Ukrainian analysts have noted that Kyiv has apparently been able to extract some major concessions, despite Donald Trump's repeated claim that Ukraine 'has no cards' to play. 'Ukraine held the line. Despite enormous pressure, every overreaching demand from the other side was dropped. The final deal looks fair,' Tymofiy Mylovanov, president of the Kyiv School of Economics, wrote on X. Notably absent from the final text was the insistence that Ukraine should repay previous military US assistance via the deal, something Trump has previously repeatedly demanded. The Kremlin was silent on Wednesday's agreement, but former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev claimed it meant Trump had 'broken the Kyiv regime' because Ukraine would have to pay for US military aid with mineral resources. The deal will show the 'Russian leadership that there is no daylight between the Ukrainian people and the American people, between our goals,' US treasury secretary Scott Bessent told Fox Business Network in an interview. 'And again, I think this is a strong signal to the Russian leadership, and it gives President Trump the ability to now negotiate with Russia on even a stronger basis,' he said. His remarks appeared to send a signal to Russia that Washington remains aligned with Kyiv despite question marks over its commitment to its ally since Trump's return to power upended US diplomacy. The Trump administration will approve its first sale of military equipment to Ukraine since Trump took office, in an indication that the minerals deal signed by the two countries this week may open a path to renewed weapons shipments. The state department has certified a proposed licence to export '$50m or more' of defence hardware and services to Ukraine, according to a communication sent to the US committee on foreign relations. Trump paused all Ukraine-related military aid shortly after taking office. The state department announced a 30-year veteran of the foreign service to run the US embassy in Kyiv 'during this critical moment as we move toward a peace agreement to stop the bloodshed'. The appointment of Julie Davis, now the US ambassador to Cyprus, was announced the day after the minerals deal was signed. She has previously served as ambassador to Belarus and deputy ambassador to Nato. She replaces Bridget Brink, who announced she was leaving the post last month as the Trump administration pushed ahead with plans for peace talks that many believed favoured Moscow. French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Thursday that the European Union was preparing a 17th round of sanctions against Russia, describing Vladimir Putin as the 'sole obstacle' to peace in Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc has hit Russia with multiple rounds of sanctions in response to its invasion of Ukraine and said earlier this year that it would not lift them before the 'unconditional' withdrawal of Moscow's forces from its neighbour. 'We Europeans will accompany this American [sanctions] initiative with a 17th package of sanctions and I committed yesterday to [US senator] Lindsey Graham that we would try to coordinate both the substance and the timing of these two packages of sanctions,' Barrot told AFP in an interview. A Russian drone attack late on Thursday set buildings ablaze in Ukraine's south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia, injuring 14 people, but causing no deaths, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said. Fedorov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, clarified earlier casualty figures, saying a report that one person was killed had proved to be untrue. One man buried under rubble had been pulled out alive, he said. Nine people were being treated in hospital. Fedorov said Russian forces had made at least 10 strikes on the city, targeting private homes, high-rise apartment buildings, educational institutions and infrastructure sites.
