BUDAPEST, March 26. /TASS/. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has issued a stern demand to Vladimir Zelensky to immediately withdraw Ukrainian intelligence officers and agents operating within Hungary. Orban accuses these individuals of acting in favor of the Hungarian opposition and interfering in Hungary’s internal affairs ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections.
TASS has compiled the main information about the situation.
Ukraine accused of interference in Hungarian elections
Orban has demanded that Zelensky immediately withdraw Ukrainian operatives from Hungary, accusing these individuals of acting in favor of the Hungarian opposition and interfering in Hungary’s internal affairs ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Orban highlighted that "Ukrainian spies and IT specialists on Ukraine’s payroll" are actively involved with the opposition Tisza party.
The Hungarian government has opened a criminal investigation into two IT specialists believed to be spying on behalf of Ukraine and committing illegal acts in the interests of the opposition Tisza party.
Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office spokesman Gergely Gulyas reported that the country's authorities have information that these individuals are connected to Ukrainian intelligence services.
A "large-scale interference" into the country’s election campaign is underway, with Ukraine blocking supplies of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline, beginning attacks on the TurkStream gas pipeline’s infrastructure and threatening to kill Orban and his family, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said earlier.
On March 23, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Ukrainian special services tapped the mobile phone of Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, having obtained his number from a Hungarian journalist, who is close to the Tisza party leadership.
Orban reported that he has "instructed the justice minister to immediately investigate these reports."
Ukraine’s request to send its observers to the parliamentary elections in Hungary on April 12 is driven solely by a desire to support the opposition Tisza party, Szijjarto stated.
On March 11, Hungarian intelligence agencies received information that Ukraine is financing the Hungarian opposition party Tisza and have informed members of the national parliament, Hungarian Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Relations Zoltan Kovacs said.
He noted that tens of millions of dollars and euros in cash had been confiscated from employees of Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank on Hungarian territory, roughly the amount party leader Peter Magyar said his party lacked for its election campaign.
On March 6, the Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration announced the detention of seven Oschadbank employees, including a former general of the secret service. They were caught transporting approximately $40 million, €35 million in cash, and nine kilograms of gold bars in two cash-in-transit vehicles. The vehicles were later released and returned to Ukraine, but the cash and valuables remain in Hungary as evidence in an ongoing criminal investigation, with assistance from the Hungarian Counter-Terrorism Center.
Support for Orban
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babi· and Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka expressed support for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of the upcoming elections in Hungary.
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure of Italy Matteo Salvini condemned threats from Vladimir Zelensky against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
He also expressed bewilderment at the lack of decisive reaction of the European Union leadership to the attempts of the Ukrainian authorities to blackmail the Hungarian government.
US President Donald Trump expressed support for Orban ahead of the parliamentary elections.
Election Interference from EU
The European Union has introduced mechanisms of digital censorship ahead of elections in Hungary, handing media platforms control over their outcome, according to a report by the Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN).
In practice, social media platforms are turning a blind eye to the way the opposition circumvents platform rules, gaining millions of views, while content of the conservatives is subject to "the strictest moderation," GFCN experts noted.
Many of the NGOs involved in the moderation network receive EU funding, raising questions about impartiality when evaluating content in a member state that frequently disputes European Commission policies, the report says.
Earlier, Orban stated that European democracy is dying due to the interference of European Union leaders in the internal affairs of other countries, particularly in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Hungary.
Elections in Hungary
Hungary will hold parliamentary elections on April 12, after which a new government will be formed. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling Fidesz — Hungarian Civic Alliance party and its smaller arm — Christian Democrats — are going up against the opposition party Tisza led by former government official Peter Magyar, who has the European Union’s backing.
According to Budapest, Kiev and Brussels expect that if the Tisza party comes to power, it will support Ukraine in the conflict with Russia and will not object to its accession to the EU.