Ukrainian authorities discover Hungarian espionage network at border
Ukrainian authorities discover Hungarian espionage network at border
On Friday, Ukraine announced that it had exposed a network of Hungarian spies that in the border area of Ukraine have tried to obtain defense secrets. This is the first time that such an operational incident was uncovered.
arrests and allegations
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) stated that they had arrested two agents of the Hungarian secret service, who were said to have reported a superior in Hungarian military secret service and were looking for weaknesses in the southwestern region of Transkarpatien, which borders on Hungary.
"Extensive measures are currently being taken to bring all members of the Hungarian intelligence agency to trial," says the message.
reactions from Hungary
The Hungarian government reacted to the arrests with the designation of two employees of the Ukrainian embassy in Budapest. Hungary Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on his Facebook page that two spies that had worked on the message "under diplomatic guise" were asked to leave.
political tensions between Ukraine and Hungary
Ukraine and Hungary are in a tense relationship with the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and the EU joining the EU. Hungary has also often criticized the European sanctions against Moscow. In addition, the Hungarian government has often pointed out that the ethnic Hungarian minority is discriminated against in Transkarpatien.
propaganda and conflict
"The last three years have shown that the war in Ukraine is not only led on the battlefield, but also in the information room. Antihhungaric propaganda is often used without a factual basis," said Szijjarto in a post to X in response to the arrests.
he added: "If we receive details or official information, we can handle it. Until then, I have to classify this as a propaganda that must be treated with caution." He emphasized that Hungary would not give in to a distraction maneuver and warned that the "anti -Hunghungaric propaganda has increased since the beginning of the war".
Denial allegations of Ukraine
the SBU said that the Hungarian spies were commissioned to collect information on military security and to study the views of the residents and "behavioral scenarios" if Hungarian troops were to march into Transcarpaties.
A man from Berehove in Transcarpaties, who was recruited in 2021 and "activated" in September last year, is accused of collecting information about the locations of Ukrainian defense systems, including the S-300 rocket defense system in the region. In addition, he was accused of recruiting two other men to build a “network of informants”.
historical backgrounds
The Transkarpatien region remained part of Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet Union. It was once part of the former Kingdom of Hungary and later Czechoslovakia. According to a census in 2001, a little more than 150,000 ethnic Hungarians lived in the region, but the number should have dropped sharply since then.
Last year, representatives of the Hungarian -speaking community criticized a draft law of Ukraine, which should restrict the use of the Hungarian language in schools by only allowed them for teaching activities, but not outside the classroom.disputes about citizenship
The two countries also had disagreements about Hungary's decision in 2011 to loosen its naturalization procedures and to give everyone who speaks Hungarian and Hungarian ancestors to grant citizenship - even if they have never put a foot into the country. Since then, tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been exhibited by Ukrainians, although Ukraine did not allow double citizenship.
orban and the EU
The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has partially rejected Ukraine's accession to the EU because he claims that ethnic Hungarians are discriminated against in West Ukraine. Orban maintained good relationships with Moscow throughout the conflict and spoke out against the growing number of EU sanctions against Russia and against the EU's auxiliary packages for Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Orban said that the President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, "pump another billion to Ukraine, drove Europe more deeply into a lost war and wanted to push a bankrupt state into the EU". "Hungary will not agree," says Orban.
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