The Hungarian authorities claim that Ukraine's statement about exposing Hungary's intelligence network on its territory indicates cooperation between Kyiv and the opposition party "Tysa".
Points of attention
- The Hungarian government faces accusations of having ties to Ukrainian intelligence services, sparking a spy scandal.
- Allegations of increased coordination between Ukrainian special services and the Hungarian opposition party “Tysa” are causing concerns.
Orban cynically accused by the opposition of having ties to Ukrainian intelligence services
This is stated in a statement by Viktor Orban's government on May 9.
Orbán says that the statement about the exposure of Hungary's intelligence activities in Ukraine is "a clear sign of increased coordination between Ukrainian special services and the Hungarian opposition party "Tysa".
The Hungarian government considers such a position to be a deeply worrying phenomenon. There have been no precedents in the country's recent history when a domestic political actor worked in tandem with the intelligence services of a neighboring state.
It also called the fact that Kyiv's claims about the exposure of Hungarian spies were spread by the opposition and "quickly developed into a full-scale international discrediting campaign" as evidence of coordination between Ukraine and "Tysa".
The Hungarian government further stated that its refusal to supply weapons to Ukraine "made the country a target, especially on the eve of decisions on Ukraine's possible accession to the EU".
In such a situation, the rapprochement between the Hungarian opposition party and Ukrainian security forces is not just worrying, but destabilizing.
On May 9, the Security Service of Ukraine announced that it had exposed a Hungarian military intelligence agent network that was carrying out espionage activities in Transcarpathia — in particular, it was "probing the ground" regarding the mood of local residents and their reaction to the potential appearance of "Hungarian peacekeepers" in the region.
At first, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stated that Budapest had not received official reports from Kyiv about the exposed network of Hungarian spies, and mentioned "anti-Hungarian propaganda."
But a few hours later, Budapest announced that it was deporting two Ukrainian diplomats, accusing them of espionage.
