The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reports it has uncovered a Hungarian intelligence operative who led a spy network in Zakarpattia Oblast in 2025.
At that time, the SBU detained two members of the espionage cell who were collecting information on the region’s military defenses, socio-political mood, and potential population reactions in the event of a Hungarian military intervention.
According to case materials, the foreign spy network was led by a career officer of Hungarian military intelligence, Zoltán Andre.
Investigations established that Andre personally conducted meetings with a local informant from Zakarpattia, who was spying in western Ukraine and later arrested by SBU counterintelligence.
Andre's secret career: diplomatic cover and agent recruitment
From 2016 to 2020, Andre operated in Georgia, conducting intelligence activities under the cover of Hungary’s diplomatic mission.
After returning in 2021, he began subversive operations against Ukraine.
He personally recruited a former serviceman from the Berehove district, placed him in a “standby mode,” and, in September 2024, activated the agent to conduct espionage in Zakarpattia.
The traitor gathered intelligence on the deployment of Ukrainian Defense Forces, including attempts to identify air defense positions protecting the west of Ukraine.
Spy schemes and recruitment: money, perks, and state danger
Andre also sought candidates for recruitment into his spy network, focusing on former and active military personnel and Ukrainian law enforcement officers.
He used Hungarian diplomatic facilities in Zakarpattia to offer money and perks to secure cooperation.
Recruitment meetings were held in Andre’s personal car, using an operational alias.
A former contract soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and another agent were detained by the SBU, while a third serviceman was targeted with promises of narcotics for personal use.
Currently, SBU counterintelligence continues operations to identify all members of the Hungarian network, and each offender will be held accountable for crimes against Ukraine.
Earlier, the Kremlin had sent a team of political technologists, including operatives who engineer public opinion through media manipulation, disinformation, and influence campaigns, to Budapest.
Their goal is to interfere in Hungary's 12 April 2026 parliamentary elections.
