More Ukrainian spies identified in Hungary, says Fidesz parliamentary group leader, one of them arrested
The national security services have identified more Ukrainian spies, including Roland Tseber as an “illegal” officer of the Ukrainian intelligence service, and István Holló, who is under investigation by the National Office of Investigation on the suspicion of espionage activities, ruling Fidesz’s parliamentary group leader said after a meeting of the national security committee on Tuesday.
Máté Kocsis told a press conference that Tseber as an “illegal” officer had probably been actively building relations with members of the Hungarian opposition for a long time. Kocsis added that Tseber had met several leading politicians and senior officials of parliamentary parties as part of his activities in Hungary.
In the meantime, Holló’s activities in Hungary involved active intelligence activities to learn about Hungary’s army and energy systems in cooperation with Ukrainian military intelligence, Kocsis said.
He added that Tseber was earlier a dual Ukrainian-Hungarian citizen but he returned his Hungarian citizenship in 2017. He has built a political career in Ukraine, including as a representative of the Transcarpathian County Council, Kocsis said. Tseber had been on the radar of the Hungarian national security authorities for years, and he was banned from entering and staying in Hungary due to his intensifying activities in 2024, he added.
Holló, who had also been on the radar of Hungarian counterintelligence for a long time, is a Ukrainian citizen who had never held Hungarian citizenship, Kocsis said. He has been involved in activities to influence Hungary’s international reputation in a negative way and aimed to make the Hungarian government change its position concerning Ukraine with the help of external pressure, he added.
In response to a question about the transparency law, Kocsis said the aim was to prevent, for instance, the disinformation campaigns that are currently under way from Ukraine, and to protect the Hungarian public space from foreign secret services and foreign state interests.
Budapest prosecutor’s office initiates arrest of Ukrainian man suspected of espionage
The Budapest prosecutor’s office has initiated the arrest of a Ukrainian man suspected of, among other things, espionage, the authority said on Tuesday.
The office said in a statement without mentioning the man’s name that there is well-founded suspicion that the man had been commissioned by the Ukrainian military intelligence service to collect data and information. On the basis of this activity, the investigating authority had suspected the man of espionage and other crimes, the statement added. The arrest of the man has been initiated to prevent him from fleeing abroad and influencing the collection of evidence, it said. A decision by the judge is expected to be made on Wednesday, it added.
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