Hungarian intelligence spied on Ukraine, SBU reveals

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported the information.

The mission of the Hungarian agents was to gather information about the military security of the Zakarpattia region, identify vulnerabilities in its ground and air defenses, and study the socio-political views of local residents - including potential behavior scenarios if Hungarian troops were to enter the region.

As a result of the operation in Zakarpattia, the SBU detained two agents from the Hungarian secret service network.

The investigation revealed that both individuals were overseen by a career officer of Hungary’s military intelligence, whose identity has already been established by the SBU.

One of his agents was a 40-year-old former serviceman from the Berehove district, who had been recruited by foreign operatives and placed in a “standby mode” back in 2021.

According to counterintelligence and SBU investigators, the handler "activated" this agent in September 2024.

At that point, the traitor was tasked with studying local public sentiment and gathering the following information:

• what will be the reaction of the military and civilian population of Zakarpattia if a peacekeeping contingent, including Hungarian military, enters the region;
• what military equipment and weapons can be purchased on the black market in Zakarpattia;
• what is the situation with the migration of the Hungarian population in the region;
• what military forces are stationed in Zakarpattia, whether there are many vehicles and combat vehicles;
• how well the law enforcement agencies are staffed and what is their size, etc.

According to the report, the agent personally scouted the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces and the coordinates of S-300 surface-to-air missile systems in the region.

After gathering the intelligence, he traveled to Hungary to report to his handler. To cross the border, the traitor obtained a caregiver certificate for his ill father, allegedly in need of treatment at foreign medical facilities.

According to the case file, during the meeting, the Hungarian intelligence officer handed over cash to the agent, which was to be used to fulfill the assigned tasks. The traitor was also looking for a network of informants. The SBU established that the resident tried to recruit at least two people.

“By forming an agent network, foreign intelligence hoped to expand the range of information gathering, including obtaining data from the frontline and frontline regions,” the Ukrainian special service explained.

In March of this year, SBU counterintelligence documented the second meeting between the agent and the curator. This time he received a phone with special software for covert communication.

Among the new tasks of the traitor was to identify official cars belonging to representatives of the Security and Defense Forces in the Zakarpattia region. In addition, the resident had to find and transmit to the Hungarian special service data on the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the war and current events from the front line, and he has already found a suitable contact in the Defense Forces.

Another detainee is a former member of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine who resigned from the unit in 2025. According to the available information, her tasks included informing the Hungarian secret service about the presence of aircraft and helicopters in the Zakarpattia region, as well as about the defense systems of the military unit where she served.

The SBU investigators documented every step of the Hungarian agents and detained the suspects at their places of residence. During the search, SBU seized their phones and other material evidence of subversive activities.

The SBU investigators served the offenders a notice of suspicion under Part 2 Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed under martial law). The offenders are in custody. They face life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

Currently, complex measures are being taken to bring to justice all members of the Hungarian intelligence network.

• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that the allocation of funds for Ukraine is a "huge mistake" by the EU. He argued that these funds should be directed towards the European economy.