Description: Two Ukrainian former servicemembers were arrested by Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service after espionage evidence emerged, they have been spying for the Hungarian military intelligence service. The SBU in their public statement announced the arrest of a 40 – year old man and a woman who have been continuously conducting surveillance on Ukraine’s aerial defensive capabilities in the Zakarpattia region, in the southwestern parts of the country. Additional information suggested the pair have also measured the sentiments of the local residents regarding the possibility of deployment of Hungarian peacekeeping troops on Ukraine’s territory, strength of local law enforcement as well as military troop deployment. The operation uncovered a Hungarian spy network on Ukraine’s territory for the first time in history and escalated bilateral tensions even further. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto denounced the presence of a spy network and called it Ukrainian propaganda, however, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry later expelled two Ukrainian diplomats, allegedly working undercover as intelligence officers in Budapest. Hungary in the meantime, also froze negotiations over the rights of approximately 150,000 Hungarians living in the Transcarpathia region in Ukraine, a bilateral dispute which further fueled tensions between the neighbors.
Impact: The uncovering of a Hungarian spy network by Ukraine’s intelligence service showcases the division within the European Union and emphasizes the influence that Russia has on its satellite countries in the Union such as Hungary and Slovakia. The operation comes at a crucial time when both Ukraine and Russia started to converge on a path towards a peace agreement expected to take place in Istanbul on 15 May. Hungary, despite being part of the EU and NATO, has shown a sympathetic stance towards Russia and continuously disputed EU’s support for Ukraine, with Prime Minister Viktor Orban considered to be one of Putin’s closest allies within the EU. Ukraine’s decision to publicly unravel Hungary’s spy network, even though it contradicts intelligence practices of developing and working sources back to the adversary’s doorstep, sends a strong message to the EU and the porousness of their eastern flank which is rapidly falling under Russian influence.