Two alleged members of a spy network coordinated by Hungarian military intelligence reporting to Budapest have been arrested this Friday by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), reports Efe. The two agents were providing information on possible reactions from the Ukrainian Army and population in this border area with Hungary to a potential deployment of Hungarian troops there.
According to the SBU statement, "the cell was gathering information on military security in the Transcarpathia region, looking for vulnerabilities in the region's land and air defenses, and studying socio-political opinions" and their possible reaction to the entry of Hungarian troops into this region where the majority of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine is concentrated.
The two agents were also trying to identify what weaponry can be purchased on the black market in Transcarpathia, gather information on migratory phenomena associated with the Hungarian minority in the region, and establish the number of military forces and combat and transport vehicles in the area, as well as the quantity and capabilities of the Ukrainian security forces stationed there.
One of the two detainees is a 40-year-old former Ukrainian military member who was recruited in 2021 and activated last September.
The SBU claims to have identified the Ukrainian military intelligence agent in charge of the two detained spies, who are in custody of the Ukrainian authorities and will have to answer for charges of treason that could result in life imprisonment.
The discovery of this cell - the first allegedly created by Budapest's secret services in Ukraine that has been documented since the beginning of the war - could further strain the already difficult relations between Ukraine and Hungary.
Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, has been a leading voice in Europe calling for re-establishing contact with Russia and stopping arming Ukraine to end the war. Orbán is against Ukraine's entry into the EU and criticizes what he sees as discriminatory treatment that Kiev gives to tens of thousands of Ukrainian citizens of Hungarian origin.
The Transcarpathia region was part of the Kingdom of Hungary for centuries and was one of the territories that Budapest lost at the end of World War I. The dismemberment in the Treaty of Trianon of a large part of the territories that had belonged to Hungary is perceived as a historical grievance by many Hungarians and holds a central place in the discourse of Hungarian nationalism led by Prime Minister Orbán today.