Ukraine Arrests Spies Working for NATO's Hungary

Kyiv said it had uncovered a network of agents inside Ukraine working for Hungarian military intelligence, a first in the country's history.

The SBU, Ukraine's intelligence service, accused the alleged spies of collecting information about the military security of the Transcarpathian region and searching for vulnerabilities in the ground and air defense there.

Moreover, the agents were tasked with learning the views of local residents, in particular how they would respond if Hungarian troops entered the region, the SBU said.

Authorities made two arrests, a man and a woman, both former servicemembers of Ukraine, accused of passing information to their Hungarian handlers in exchange for money. They face life imprisonment if convicted.

Newsweek has contacted the Hungarian foreign affairs ministry for comment via email to its press department.

Hungary subsequently "expelled two spies working under diplomatic cover at the Ukrainian embassy in Budapest," said Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's minister of foreign affairs and trade, in a statement to the MTI news agency.

Szijjártó said the government "will not tolerate such smear campaigns being launched in Ukraine against Hungary and the Hungarian people."

Why It Matters

Tensions have been building for months between Hungary and Ukraine. Hungary is a member of NATO, but its government under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is sympathetic to Russia and skeptical of Western intervention in the war in Ukraine.

Orbán is seeking to block European Union (EU) funding for Ukraine and Kyiv's accession to the 27-member state bloc, which he says will drain development money and flood its market with Ukrainian agricultural products, hurting farmers.

What to Know

The SBU said the agents were handled by a career officer of Hungary's military intelligence and that it had established the person's identity, though he was not named.

The arrested Ukrainian man is a 40-year-old former serviceman from the Berehove district who the SBU said was recruited in 2021 but only "activated" in September 2024.

He was "tasked with studying local sentiment," the SBU said. This included how military personnel and civilians would react if Hungarian peacekeeping troops entered the Zakarpattia Oblast.

But he was also seeking information on what military equipment and weapons could be bought on the local black market, which military forces were stationed there, including numbers of combat and transport vehicles, and the strength of law enforcement.

Moreover, the SBU said the agent "personally reconnoitered the deployments of the defense forces and the locations of S-300 surface-to-air missile systems in the region."

The man allegedly took the intelligence to Hungary to report to his handler after obtaining documentation that certified him as a caregiver to his sick father in need of treatment abroad. The handler gave him cash to fund his activities.

"Among other duties, the traitor was to recruit a network of informants. The SBU established that he attempted to recruit at least two additional individuals," the intelligence service said.

"By forming this spy network, the foreign intelligence service hoped to broaden its information-gathering scope to include data from both near-front and frontline regions."

The agent allegedly had a second meeting with his handler in March 2025, where he "received a phone equipped with specialized software for covert communications," the SBU said.

"His new orders included identifying official vehicles belonging to members of Ukraine's security and defense forces in Zakarpattia Oblast," the release continued.

"He was also to collect and pass on to Hungarian intelligence data on Ukrainian Armed Forces losses in the war and current frontline developments—and he had already established a suitable contact within the Defense Forces."

The SBU said the woman arrested is a former servicewoman of Ukraine's security and defense forces who left her unit in 2025.

"According to available information, her tasks included informing Hungarian intelligence about the presence of planes and helicopters in Zakarpattia Oblast, as well as details of the defense systems at the military unit where she had served," the SBU said.

What People Are Saying

Prime Minister Orbán had posted to his Facebook page on April 24: "Ukraine's accession to the EU is endangering all our achievements so far. Don't let them overtake Hungarians!"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had hit back at Orbán, saying the majority of Hungarians supported his country's accession to the EU, Kyiv Post reported: "So, the people of Hungary are with us...Just don't drag us into your elections. That's what he [Orbán] is doing—by blocking us in the EU.

"In the end, this strategy won't be a winning one. Why? Because, ultimately, the people there support Ukraine. No matter how much he tries to manipulate public opinion. He may sway a portion, but you can't keep winning purely by spreading hate."

Orbán called Zelensky's remarks "a direct threat in international politics."

"And you cannot threaten the Hungarian people," Orbán told lawmakers, saying he had avoided an open clash with Zelensky, despite their differences, until now.

What's Next

Hungary will hold parliamentary elections in 2026, though the opposition has called for snap elections sooner. Ukraine continues to push for accession to the EU, despite Hungary's threat to veto its membership.

Update, 5/9/25, 9:10 a.m. ET: A statement by Péter Szijjártó was added.