Orbán accuses Kyiv of attempted "smear campaign" against Hungary
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accused Ukraine’s special services of attempting to disrupt a public survey of Hungarians on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
Source: Orbán following a meeting of the Hungarian Defence Council on 13 May, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Orbán alleged that there had been "an unprecedented attack on Hungary by the security services in recent days".
He claimed that Ukraine had launched a coordinated campaign to discredit Hungary in order to undermine the public consultation on Ukraine’s EU membership.
He further alleged that Kyiv had enlisted contacts within Hungary, including a Hungarian opposition politician, to carry out this campaign and target Hungary’s defence forces.
Orbán described the alleged collaboration between a Hungarian opposition party and Ukraine’s special services as unprecedented in Hungary’s memory.
He vowed that Hungary would complete its survey on Ukraine’s European integration, asserting that neither Brussels nor Kyiv could decide on behalf of the Hungarian people.
Background:
- Tensions in Ukrainian-Hungarian relations have been escalating since the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) announced it had uncovered a Hungarian intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast (Transcarpathia) in Ukraine's west.
- Hungary subsequently expelled two Ukrainian diplomats, accusing them of espionage. Ukraine announced the expulsion of two Hungarian diplomats in response.
- Hungary also detained and deported a former Ukrainian diplomat on Friday 9 May.
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