Mutual spy accusations. Budapest expels Ukrainian diplomats, after Ukraine arrested Hungarian spies
The tensions between Kiev and Budapest are growing after Hungary decided on Friday to expel two Ukrainian diplomats, accused of being undercover agents, as a reaction to arrest, on the same day, two people suspected of espionage in Hungary, in Ukraine.
Ungur Minister Peter Szijjarto announced the expel of two Ukrainian diplomats. Facebook photo
“Today, I expelled from Hungary two spies that worked under diplomatic cover at the Ukraine Embassy in Budapest,” said on Friday, May 9, in a video message on Facebook, Peter Szijjarto, Hungarian Foreign Minister.
The statement of Hungary comes after the Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) had announced the arrest in Transcarpathia of two suspected persons that they would be part of a spy network coordinated by the Hungarian military intelligence services. According to Ukrainian authorities, they “They collected information about military security in the Transcarpathian region, sought vulnerabilities in the terrestrial and aerial defense of the region and studied socio-political opinions“Of the local population.
One of the suspects would be a former 40 -year -old Ukrainian military man, who was recruited by Hungarian services in 2021 and activated in September 2024, according to SBU.
The Hungarian Foreign Minister has listed the SBU announcement as part of an anti-Hungarian propaganda campaign, notes Agerpres.
“If we receive official details or information, we will be able to deal with it. Until then, I consider this as propaganda to be treated with caution.”he said immediately after the announcement Peter Szijjarto, adding that, in his opinion, the conflict in Ukraine is also a “war of propaganda”, and Kiev “frequently uses antimaghial rhetoric.”
Relationships between Ukraine and Hungary have been tense for a long time, especially because of the attitude of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who refused to directly support Ukraine's war effort against Russia.
In addition, Budapest accuses Kiev of violating the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia, estimated at about 150,000 people. The Hungarian government previously stated that some of the Ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine, enrolled in the Ukrainian army, lost their lives on the front.
Another tense moment between the two countries took place in June 2022, when Russia transferred 11 prisoners of Ukrainian war prisoners to Hungary, a gesture that aroused Kiev's dissatisfaction.
