Ukraine expelled two Hungarian diplomats on Friday evening after Ukrainian intelligence broke up a Hungarian spy ring who was allegedly preparing for a potential invasion in western Ukraine earlier the same day.
“Two Hungarian diplomats must leave our country within 48 hours. We have just summoned Hungarian Ambassador to [the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine] and presented him with the relevant note,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha announced on X.
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“We are acting in response to Hungary’s actions, based on the principle of reciprocity and our national interests,” he added, referring to a similar move earlier today when Budapest expelled two Ukrainian diplomats following the spy incident.
On Friday afternoon, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced the decision in a Facebook video, accusing the diplomats as “spies who were working under diplomatic cover at the Ukrainian Embassy in Budapest” and denied Kyiv’s accusations.
What happened?
On Friday, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said Budapest’s national military intelligence agency operated a clandestine spy network in western Ukraine with the mission of determining the level of local support to a possible invasion by Hungarian troops.
The SBU arrested two suspects who were allegedly tasked with collecting sensitive information about the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) installations and units, tracking local officials, and constructing and expanding a local agent network.
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The two detainees – a man and a woman – were reportedly supervised by a Hungarian intelligence officer. Both face life imprisonment.
SBU spokesman Artem Dekhtaryenko said the arrests marked the first time ever Ukrainian counterintelligence had broken up a spy ring from a NATO state.
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