Hungary Expels 10 Russian Diplomats Over Alleged Espionage (Worthy News Investigation)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – In a major turnaround, Hungary announced Tuesday it would expel 10 Russian diplomats over alleged espionage after the country’s new government described Russia as a threat to national and European security.

Foreign Minister Anita Orbán said Hungarian authorities determined that the 10 members of Russia’s diplomatic mission had engaged in activities “unacceptable for diplomats” under the Vienna Convention.

“The Hungarian side has therefore called on those concerned to leave Hungary,” Orbán added in a social media statement. “The decision protects Hungary’s security and sovereignty.”

Prime Minister Péter Magyar also announced the decision in parliament, marking one of Budapest’s most significant moves against Moscow in years.

SHARP BREAK WITH MOSCOW

The expulsions represent a sharp break with the policies of Magyar’s nationalist predecessor, Viktor Orbán, who cultivated close relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin even after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that Moscow’s response would be “harsh and painful.”

Hungary under Viktor Orbán regularly faced criticism for taking an overly accommodating approach toward Moscow, with concerns that Budapest had become an important operating environment for Russian intelligence inside the European Union and the NATO military alliance.

Russia’s embassy in the Hungarian capital also maintained an unusually large diplomatic presence while other European governments expelled scores of Russian diplomats following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

SPYING CONCERNS

Concerns about Russian intelligence activities in Hungary predate Tuesday’s expulsions.

A 2023 cross-border investigation by several European media organizations found extensive antenna equipment on the Russian Embassy in Budapest, near the Worthy News Europe Bureau, that former Hungarian counterintelligence officers said could be used for signals intelligence.

They reported that equipment at the embassy could monitor radio activity across a roughly 30-kilometer (19-mile) radius, potentially covering much of Budapest, including government and military facilities and the city’s international airport.

Investigators also reported that equipment believed to be housed in a structure on the embassy roof could monitor cellphone signals, collect identifying information from nearby devices and potentially intercept telephone conversations.

NO INTERCEPTION DETECTED

Hungarian authorities at the time maintained that national security agencies had not detected indications that telephone communications were actually being intercepted and stressed that they had the technical capability to detect and prevent such activity.

Concerns intensified this year when an investigation by independent Russian journalists alleged that 15 of the 47 people working at Russia’s embassy in Budapest had links to Russian intelligence services, while another six may have had such connections.

The issue gained further significance after Magyar took office. In May, Hungary reportedly expelled Russian Embassy third secretary Artur Sushkov after Hungarian counterintelligence identified him as a Russian intelligence officer operating under diplomatic cover.

VSquare, a Central European investigative journalism platform, reported that counterintelligence had recommended Sushkov’s expulsion months earlier but that Viktor Orbán’s outgoing government had blocked the move.

RUSSIA CALLED THREAT

Tuesday’s action follows an unusually blunt foreign policy declaration issued by Magyar’s government last month in guidelines setting Hungary’s priorities for the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

“Hungary condemns Russian military aggression and fully supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders,” said the government document monitored by Worthy News.

It also recognized Ukraine’s right to self-defense and supported negotiations aimed at achieving “sustainable peace and long-term security guarantees.”

“Russia’s conduct poses a threat to Hungary, Europe and the global order,” the document added, warning that Moscow’s actions also place the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine’s western Transcarpathia region “in serious danger.”

POLICY REVERSAL

The language represented a dramatic reversal from the approach pursued by Viktor Orbán, who for years maintained close political and economic relations with Moscow while repeatedly clashing with European Union partners over sanctions against Russia and military assistance for Ukraine.

Since taking office after defeating Orbán in April’s parliamentary elections, Magyar has sought to repair relations with Brussels while moving Hungary closer to the European mainstream on Russia and Ukraine.

His government reached an agreement with the European Commission that opened access to 16.4 billion euros ($19.3 billion) in previously frozen EU recovery and cohesion funding after Budapest committed to anti-corruption and rule-of-law reforms.

Hungary has also lifted previous objections to reimbursing EU member states for weapons supplied to Ukraine, while the government launched a review of the Paks II nuclear power plant expansion being built by Russia’s state-owned Rosatom.

RUSSIAN ENERGY TIES

Viktor Orbán signed the Paks II agreement with Russia in 2014 to add two reactors to Hungary’s only operating nuclear power plant. The 12.5-billion-euro ($14.5 billion) project was awarded to Russia’s state-owned Rosatom without a competitive tender, with Moscow offering a loan of up to 10 billion euros ($11.6 billion) to finance 80 percent of the original cost.

The long-delayed project has become increasingly controversial, with Magyar saying its eventual cost could reach 24 billion euros ($27.9 billion). His government has launched a review of the project’s financing and implementation.

Despite the diplomatic shift, Magyar’s government has not sought a complete break with Moscow. Hungary remains heavily dependent on Russian oil and natural gas, and officials have indicated that the country intends to diversify its energy supplies rather than immediately abandon Russian energy.

It remained unclear Tuesday what impact the rapidly deteriorating relations with Moscow could have on Hungary’s energy supplies and the Paks II project, with Hungarians expressing concern about the potential consequences for energy security and prices.

UKRAINE ACCESSION

Budapest also continues to oppose fast-tracking Ukraine’s membership of the European Union and has sought a cautious approach to accession negotiations, while emphasizing protections for ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Anita Orbán stressed Tuesday that Hungary still intends to maintain diplomatic ties with Moscow based on “required dialogue, mutual respect and the respect of rules.”

Yet Tuesday’s expulsions underscored how rapidly Hungarian-Russian relations have changed since the ouster of Viktor Orbán, whose government maintained some of the European Union’s closest ties with Moscow.

With the current cabinet now openly identifying Russia as a security threat and ordering Russian diplomats to leave Hungary, relations between Budapest and Moscow have rapidly deteriorated.

The expelled diplomats will leave behind an embassy facing a makeshift memorial to Alexei Navalny near Budapest’s Bajza utca metro station. The Russian opposition leader and prominent critic of Putin died in an Arctic prison in February 2024.