GLOBAL:
The Ukraine security service said Thursday that it had dismantled a spy network led by Hungarian military information, accusing two former Ukrainian soldiers of gathering classified defense information in a Western region that borders Hungary.
The Ukraine Security Service (SBU) said that the suspects detained, a man and a woman, had collected data on air defense systems, law enforcement activities and public feeling in the Zakarpattia region, which houses a large Hungarian ethnic population.
“For the first time in the history of Ukraine, the security service has exhibited a Hungarian military intelligence network carrying out spying activities to the detriment of our state,” the SBU said in a statement.
He said one of the suspects went to Hungary to report to his alleged manager, receiving money and a secure communication system.
The SBU has described suspects as “treats” and said they had used their past military experience to access sensitive locations. Authorities have entered the phones and other alleged evidence during the raids on their homes.
The pair is faced with accusations of betrayal, which in Ukraine can be sentenced to life.
The Hungarian government has not publicly responded to the accusations.
Although Hungary is a member of the EU and NATO, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has maintained warm ties with the Kremlin and opposed several EU efforts to support Ukraine since the Russia’s large -scale invasion in 2022.
The Government of Orban previously blocked military aid plans, expressed resistance to EU EU members and continuous energy relations with Moscow.
While Zakarpattia is far from the front lines in the south and east, where the fighting continues, the SBU has declared that the nature of the presumed espionage – focused on military infrastructure – has made the cause particularly serious.
Former British defense secretary, Ben Wallace said it was not the first time that Ukraine has accused Hungary of having undergone its security, but that the new statements had raised more in -depth questions about loyalty within NATO.
“There must be a serious discussion within NATO about the members who behave in this way,” said Wallace.
The tensions between Hungary and Ukraine have broken out several times in recent years, in particular on the rights of the ethnic minority of Zakarpattia.
In 2021, Ukraine expelled Hungarian diplomats on Budapest reports distributing passports in the region.
According to the latest Ukrainian census in 2001, around 150,000 Hungarians live in the Zakarpattia region.
