Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused the opposition Tisza party of colluding with Ukraine in what he described as an “unprecedented intelligence operation” against Hungary, Telex and Hirado reported on 13 May.
The Tisza Party is a centre-right, Christian democratic opposition party in Hungary, led by Péter Magyar. The party positions itself as a centrist anti-establishment force aiming to restore Hungary’s democratic order and EU ties.
Orban made these accusations after convening the Defense Council on 13 May 2025.
“This has never happened before! A Hungarian opposition party is an active participant in a foreign intelligence operation launched against Hungary. Hungarian services are ready. Neither Brussels nor Kyiv can decide without the Hungarian people!” Orban wrote on social media.
The accusations come days after Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) announced on 9 May that it had exposed a Hungarian military intelligence network spying against Ukraine.
In a video statement, Orban claimed Ukraine had launched “a coordinated smear campaign against Hungary” to prevent a referendum on EU membership.
“Today’s Defense Council meeting also revealed that Ukrainians have reactivated their connections in Hungary and, with the help of one Hungarian party, carried out an attack against the Hungarian armed forces,” Orban said, according to Hirado.
The prime minister added that the Hungarian opposition party had actively participated in an operation by Ukrainian intelligence services, calling it unprecedented “in living memory.”
Orban warned he expects more intelligence operations in the coming weeks during the voting period.
In response, Tisza party leader Peter Magyar announced he is filing a police report against the prime minister.
“Viktor Orban is sinking lower and lower every day. Now he’s trying to use the secret services to accuse half the country and the strongest Hungarian political party of treason — just because he fears for his own power,” Magyar stated.
Magyar added that he is filing a complaint regarding “two crimes” committed by Orban in his speech: spreading panic-inducing disinformation and failing to report a crime against the state.
On 9 May SBU detained two individuals allegedly working as agents for Hungarian military intelligence in Zakarpattia Oblast.
According to the investigation, they collected information about Zakarpattia’s military defenses, searched for vulnerabilities in the region’s ground and air defense, and studied local residents’ socio-political views, and asked about scenarios of their behavior if Hungarian troops entered the region.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto dismissed the case as “propaganda that should be treated with caution.”
The same day, Szijjarto announced that Hungary was expelling two Ukrainian diplomats, accusing them of espionage. He complained about “increasingly strong anti-Hungarian propaganda” in Ukraine and a “smear campaign against Hungarians.” In response, Ukraine expelled two Hungarian diplomats.
Later, Budapest detained a former Ukrainian diplomat, accusing him of espionage.
Read also:
- Orban’s government urges Hungarians to vote against Ukraine in survey on support for Ukraine’s EU membership
- Orban’s nightmare: Germany looks to suspend funding of EU worst offenders
- EU bypasses Orbán’s veto to reaffirm support for Ukraine’s sovereignty
