Number of Russian diplomats increased in Hungary after the war began – but why?

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022, European countries massively reduced the number of diplomats working at Russian embassies. Throughout the continent, about 400 of them were expelled under suspicions of conducting espionage for the Russian state. This means that the Russian diplomatic personnel residing in Europe was basically halved.

There are only two exemptions to this practice. One of them is Serbia, a long-time ally and friend of Russia. The other one is the EU and NATO member state of Hungary. From November 2021 to July 2022 the number of official Russian diplomats inside the country rose from 46 to 50. Until October, this grew to 59. This means the number of people working at the Russian Embassy increased by 1/3rd after the war began, writes Szabad Európa.

Diplomats or spies?

Since October, the number of Russian diplomatic personnel in Hungary has since decreased to that before the war. The question arises: for what reason was this temporary increase necessary? There are several alarming factors. For example, projects related to diplomatic work tend to last for years, not months, which makes the circumstances suspicious. In addition, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade refused to acknowledge these changes.

Benedek József Kiss security policy expert, ex-military intelligence officer told RTL last year that at Russian diplomatic bodies, the amount of people working as agents for the state’s intelligence offices is considerably high – around 60-70 percent. Fellow European experts estimated that agents disguised as diplomats at Russian Embassies make up about 1/3rd of the total personnel.

Role of the spy bank

After Hungary re-joined the International Investment Bank (IIB, more commonly known as the Russian spy bank), more possible Russian agents got the chance to reside in the country. Since the relocation of the bank’s headquarter to Budapest in 2019, Hungary became more at risk of infiltration.

At its maximum, the bank employed over 100 Russians, about whom we knew nothing about, only the fact that they enjoyed diplomatic immunity. This is all due to a special law created for this reason. These further fuel the suspicion of possible espionage.

In addition, since the sanctions on Russia were introduced, the IIB couldn’t really act as a bank anyway. Every investor country left its premises after the war began, expect for Hungary and Russia. When the USA introduced special economic sanctions against the bank and its leaders, the Hungarian government announced its withdrawal as well.

Right now, the number of Russians working in Hungary with diplomatic immunity is estimated to be around 100. This is much higher than in larger countries such as the UK (33), or at our partners in the region, like Slovakia (15) or Czechia (8).

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Source: Szabad Európa