The already extremely fragile relationship between Ukraine and Hungary suffered another blow when the bilateral meeting on the rights of Ukraine’s Hungarian minority for using its mother tongue, scheduled for 12 May was canceled by the Hungarian side the day before it was supposed to take place. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Levente Magyar explained: "...I have come to the conclusion that the events of the past few days in Hungarian-Ukrainian relations do not make it possible to continue to negotiate on such an important and sensitive issue as minority rights constructively and in good-faith".
Magyar justified his decision by saying that “the circumstances surrounding last Friday's alleged counterintelligence operation in Transcarpathia, which Ukraine immediately disclosed to the media, call into question the sincerity of the intention to resolve outstanding issues. Let us wait and see what happens in the coming days. For our part, we remain ready for dialogue."
The accusations
The Deputy Minister was referring to the announcement of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) that it had uncovered an organization it described as a Hungarian military spy network in western Ukraine and had detained two of its agents. Shortly afterwards, it was announced that the two individuals, who are suspected of having been recruited by the Hungarian secret service, and who are charged with treason have been remanded in custody for two months and were denied bail, as TSN television reported.
All that has been revealed about the detained agents is that one of them is a woman, while the other is a 40-year-old man who once served as a soldier in the Berehove district and was a sleeper agent recruited in 2021 and activated last September, according to Unian.
The SBU also claims to have established the identity of their recruiter (who they say is a member of the Hungarian counterintelligence service) but no further specifics have been disclosed.
As for the two agents’ tasks, the SBU said that it “was to gather information about military security in Transcarpathia, to identify weak points in the region's ground and air defenses, and to study the socio-political views of local residents, particularly with regard to their expected behavior in the event of Hungarian troops entering the region".
According to the SBU's report, the man was specifically tasked with:
- investigating what kind of military equipment could be purchased on the black market in Transcarpathia;
- monitoring the movements of the Hungarian population in the region;
- determining what kind of military units were stationed in Transcarpathia and how many combat and transport vehicles were in the area;
- and finding out the level of operational readiness of the law enforcement forces.
The SBU also posted a video on Telegram, which includes the confession of one of the detained operatives. He can be heard saying that when he had applied for Hungarian citizenship at the consulate, he was contacted by a Hungarian counterintelligence officer who recruited him in exchange for money. The recording also includes a wiretapped phone conversation, in which a man speaking Hungarian with a Slavic accent arranges a meeting with a person who speaks Hungarian without an accent and who, according to the SBU, may be the agent's Hungarian contact.
Tit for tat
The first Hungarian diplomat to comment on the news was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, he said: “In addition to the physical war, the armed clashes taking place in the air and on the front lines, there is a propaganda war going on in Ukraine as well. And it is clear that anti-Hungarian propaganda is often being used in Ukraine. In many cases, this anti-Hungarian propaganda has been proven to be completely unsubstantiated. This is why I would ask everyone to exercise caution when encountering any such reports appearing as part of Ukrainian propaganda”.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was next with a short post, in which he wrote: “Hungarians are currently deciding on Ukraine's EU membership. Neither Brussels nor Kyiv like this. This is why they are launching smear campaigns against Hungary.”
Not long after the aforementioned press conference, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced that Hungary is expelling two Ukrainian diplomats, accusing them of espionage. This kind of response isn't unusual in the world of intelligence and diplomacy. When a country's operatives get caught abroad, it is customary to react by expelling spies who have been on the country's radar for a while.
Ukraine responded to Hungary’s move within hours, expelling two Hungarian diplomats, the announcement made by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Syibiha on Friday afternoon.
He wrote that "Two Hungarian diplomats must leave our country within 48 hours. We have just summoned the Hungarian ambassador and handed him a note to that effect. We took this step in response to Hungary's measures, acting on the principle of reciprocity and in accordance with our national interests".
There’s probably more to come
Telex's sources in the secret services agree that the recent events are part of a secret service game that has been going on for months and about which the government has already made comments to the public.
Our sources also consider an event from the week before – which was not made public – to be part of the same game. At that time, the Hungarian army's radar detected drones – one of which was shot down – that flew into Hungary in the region of Tokaj. The Hungarians suspect that the drones came from Ukraine. We sent questions to the army about this, but have yet to receive an answer.
Telex interviewed national security expert Péter Buda and among others, asked him what this case reveals about the relationship between Ukraine and Hungary. He said that “this is an extraordinary development, especially because it was just recently that the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Euro-Atlantic integration was in Hungary for talks, and at the joint press conference she held with the Hungarian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the impression was given that the two sides had embarked on a path towards normalizing relations.”
When asked about the potential escalation of events, Buda said: “Given that there is much at stake for both countries, I am afraid that further incidents may be expected on both sides.”
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