Camilla Jessen
Hungary thought it had arrested a Ukrainian spy.
Hungarian authorities were confident they had caught a Ukrainian spy in Budapest—until the man they detained revealed he was actually a Russian citizen.
Now, the court has stopped his deportation to Ukraine and allowed him to leave for Russia instead.
From Diplomat to “Illegal Operative”
According to a report by Telex, the man was arrested on May 9 in downtown Budapest by Hungary’s Counter Terrorism Centre.
Officials labeled him an “illegal intelligence operative”—a term used for spies who don’t have diplomatic protection. Though he had previously worked at Ukraine’s embassy in Hungary during the 2010s, he no longer held a diplomatic role at the time of his arrest.
No criminal charges were filed, but Hungarian authorities began the process to deport him on national security grounds.
They initially planned to send him back to Ukraine, listing it as his country of origin.
But at a court hearing on June 5, the man’s lawyers presented evidence showing that he’s a citizen of the Russian Federation. They explained that Ukraine was listed on his 2023 residency application only because the form didn’t allow for dual citizenship to be indicated.
The court sided with him, saying he should have been given the option to leave for Russia voluntarily and overturned the deportation order.
Regional Tensions
This case comes just weeks after Ukraine’s intelligence service revealed it had uncovered a Hungarian spy ring operating inside Ukrainian territory.
The group was reportedly collecting military and political information in Ukraine’s western Zakarpattia region, home to a large ethnic Hungarian population.
Tensions between Hungary and Ukraine have been rising. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has repeatedly blocked Ukraine’s efforts to join the EU, arguing that it goes against Hungarian national interests.