WORLD:
Ukraine’s security service said on Thursday that it had disassembled a espionage network allegedly run by Hungarian military intelligence, accusing two former Ukrainian troops of gathering classified defense information in a western area.
The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said that the suspects held, a man and a woman, had gathered information on air defense systems, law enforcement and public feeling in the Zakarpattia area, which host a large national population of Hungary.
“For the first time in Ukraine history, the Security Service has exposed a Hungarian network of military information that conducts espionage activities against our state,” SBU said in a statement.
He said that one of the suspects had traveled to Hungary to report to his supposed operator, receiving cash and a safe communication device.
The SBU described the suspects as “traitors” and said they had used their previous military experience to access sensitive locations. Authorities captured phones and other suspected data during raids on their homes.
The couple faces the categories of betrayal, which in Ukraine can carry a life sentence.
The Hungarian government did not publicly respond to the charges.
Although Hungary is a member of the EU and NATO, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has kept warm ties with the Kremlin and opposed multiple EU efforts to support Ukraine from Russia’s complete invasion in 2022.
The Orban government has previously prevented military aid packages, expressing resistance to EU EU accession and continuing energy transactions with Moscow.
While Zakarpattia is far from the first lines in the south and east, where the battle continues, SBU said the nature of the supposed espionage – focusing on military infrastructure – made the case particularly serious.
Former UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace said it was not the first time Ukraine accused Hungary of undermining her safety, but said new claims had raised deeper questions about NATO’s faith.
“There must be some serious debate in NATO about members who behave in this way,” Wallace said.
Tensions between Hungary and Ukraine have repeatedly exhausted in recent years, especially for the rights of Zakarpattia’s ethnic Hungarian minority.
In 2021, Ukraine excluded Hungarian diplomats about the reports of Budapest’s passports in the area.
According to Ukraine’s latest census in 2001, about 150,000 Hungarians live in the Zakarpattia area.
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