Ukraine uncovers Hungarian spies for the first time: Espionage in Zakarpattia exposed

“For the first time in the history of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine exposed an agent network of Hungarian military intelligence that carried out espionage activities to the detriment of our country,” the statement said.

The task of this cell was to collect information about the military security of the Zakarpattia region, search for vulnerabilities in the region's ground and air defense, and study the socio-political views of residents. In particular, scenarios of their behavior if Hungarian troops enter the region.

About the Hungarian agents and their supervisor

As a result of comprehensive measures in Zakarpattia, the SBU detained two agents from the Hungarian secret service network.

According to the investigation, both suspects were supervised by a Hungarian military intelligence officer, whose identity the SBU has already identified.

One of his agents was a 40-year-old former military officer from the Berehivskyi district, who was recruited by foreigners and put on standby back in 2021.

According to SBU counterintelligence and investigators, the curator activated this agent in September 2024.

Then the traitor received a task to study the mood of the local population and obtain the following information:

• the reaction of the military and civilian population of Zakarpattia if a peacekeeping contingent, including the Hungarian military, enters the region;
• what military equipment and weapons can be purchased on the black market in Zakarpattia;
• the situation with the migration of the Hungarian population in the region;
• what military forces are stationed in Zakarpattia, whether there are many combat vehicles;
• how well the law enforcement agencies are staffed and their number, etc.

It is documented that after that, the agent personally reconnoitered the deployment of the Defense Forces and the coordinates of the S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems in the region.

After gathering intelligence, he traveled to Hungary to report to his supervisor. To cross the border, the traitor obtained a certificate of caretaker for his sick father, who needed treatment in foreign institutions.

According to the case file, during the meeting, the Hungarian intelligence officer handed over cash to the agent, which was to be used for the assigned tasks. Among other things, the traitor was looking for a network of informants. The SBU established that the resident tried to recruit at least two people.

By forming an agent network, foreign intelligence hoped to expand the range of information gathering, including obtaining data from the frontline and frontline regions.

In March of this year, SBU CI documented the second meeting between the agent and the curator. This time, he received a phone with special software for covert communication.

New espionage tasks

Among the traitor's new tasks was to identify official cars belonging to representatives of the Security and Defense Forces in the Zakarpattia region. The resident also had to find and pass on to the Hungarian special service data on the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the war and current events from the front line, and he has already found a suitable contact in the Defense Forces.

Another detainee is a former member of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine who retired from the unit in 2025. According to the available information, her tasks included informing the Hungarian secret service about the presence of planes and helicopters in the Zakarpattia region, as well as about the defense systems of the military unit where she served.

The SBU CI documented every step of the Hungarian agents and detained the suspects at their places of residence. During the search, SBU seized their phones and other material evidence of subversive activities.

The SBU investigators served them a notice of suspicion under Part 2 Art. 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason committed under martial law). They are in custody. They face life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

In early May, the SBU and the Prosecutor General's Office, together with law enforcement officers from France and Monaco, detained the son of the former Motor Sich president. He is accused of embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the company's assets.

In July 2024, Ukrainian law enforcement officers neutralized a Russian FSB agent group that was preparing arson attacks on shopping centers in the European Union.