A series of arrests, diplomatic expulsions and public humiliation, the relationship between war-torn Ukraine and its stinging NATO neighbors fell to new lows.
At the heart of the bank is accusing Viktor Orban of the Fedes government in Hungary that is using the quarrel with his main political rival, the opposition Tisza Party, which leads in the polls ahead of the 2026 election.
Earlier this month, Ukraine's SBU Security Agency announced the arrest of two Ukrainian citizens accused of surveillance of Hungary.
According to the allegations, both men and women are on salary for Hungarian military intelligence, supported by video and audio evidence, preparing for Hungarian military operations in Ukraine.
Hungary then expelled two Ukrainian diplomats, and Ukraine followed suit in the reaction of the Tit-Tat, which further damaged the already sour relationship. Hungary also arrested Ukrainian citizens and accused him of spying.
Orban, widely regarded as Russia's closest ally in the EU, broke with his European partners by maintaining trade and opposing trade and sanctions against Russia, refusing to allow weapons to transit and comparing Ukraine to Afghanistan.
Now, he accuses Keefe of trying to “insult” his country.
Recently, all 8 million Hungarian families received a government questionnaire called “Vox 2025”, inviting them to reject Ukraine's EU membership.
A year ago, Orban showed himself as the only person outside the pope, trying to ensure an unconditional ceasefire.
But his critics described his so-called peace mission as Moscow, Moscow and other capitals in a reward for Russian aggression.
The day after Orban met with Vladimir Putin, Russia, Russian missiles attacked Omat Children's Hospital in Kiev.
Three days later, Peter Magyar, head of the Tisza Party in Hungary, brought $40,000 in Hungarian medical assistance to the hospital. Polls show Magyar could be deported from power in April next year.
The man who took Tisza's leader to Kiev Roland Tseber is now the target of Fidesz trying to accuse the Hungarian opposition of betrayal of Hungary.
Roland Taber (R) (R) drives Peter Maya (L) to Kiev in July 2024 after Russian attack on the capital [Roland Tseber]
When I met him in an Ukrainian refugee center in Ukrainian Rod in April, Roland Tseber was a fresh, hardworking politician.
He is helping to distribute medical assistance to Hungary, working with Hungarian doctors and psychologists who have supported internally displaced Ukrainians since 2022.
He told me that his trouble began with a visit from Peter Magyar.
In August, he heard that he was banned from Hungary and, at Hungary's insistence, in the entire Schengen area of the EU, without explanation.
Mr. Tseber's letter to the Hungarian Embassy of Kyiv was not answered.
Our far-right wing of the Hungarian Parliament, the leader of our National People's Party, Laszlo Toroczkai, labeled him as a “terrorist”. Kocsis, the leader of the Fides faction in the Hungarian parliament, called him a “Ukrainian spy” and has long been in the anti-intelligence of Hungary.
“I rejected all these allegations and tried to connect me to any kind of intelligence activity. It's ridiculous. I'm a trans-auto politician who works honestly and openly for his own homeland and for the interests of Hungary.”
Despite Orban's stance, the Hungarians sent medical help to Ukraine [BBC]
As an elected independent MP, he was a regional conference of Transcarpathia, sitting among the political group of the BJP servants of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met a wide variety of politicians, including Hungarian Foreign Minister Levente Magyar.
“I'm a Ukrainian politician and I meet with everyone. The whole situation is ridiculous. They want to drag me into the story of this spy. But anyone with common sense can understand that it's ridiculous.”
The weakest link in the Hungarian government narrative is that if he is indeed within the scope of Hungarian intelligence, government politicians and Peter Magyar as members of the European Parliament would be warned to stay away from him.
In Ukraine-Husgary Row, the reduction in the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia has become a collateral loss.
In Ukraine's last census, their population was 150,000, but the latest estimates suggest that their number has been reduced to 70-80,000. Dozens of people were killed in the fight against Russia for Ukraine.
Another twist in the story is that Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, a former Hungarian official, is now a well-known Tisza party politician, has been attacked by the government-controlled media.
The government claims that “formerly senior figures of the Ministry of Defense” (apparently a reference to Lujin-Zindi) are in contact with the Ukrainian Intelligence Service.
Ruszin-Szendi hit, accusing a smearing movement. He addressed the government on Facebook: “I am a decent Hungarian citizen and have been wearing uniforms since I was 14. Everything my comrades and I have done for my country is very valuable to you, and I am shocked and sad.”
Since the full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Viktor Orban portrayed himself as a peaceful man and won the April 2022 election and promised to keep Hungary away from the Ukrainian war.
But the 2023 speech that just leaked by Peter Magyar tells a completely different story.
Defence Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky was recorded a year after the start of the Ukrainian war, and the government decided to break with a peaceful mindset and turned to “phase zero of the road to war” as the Hungarian army of combat read.
In the same year, many experienced Atlanticists, such as Ruszin-Szendi, were fired as part of the military's “revival.”
They were replaced by officers loyal to the government's pro-Moscow position.
