Hungary has expelled 10 Russian diplomats accused of carrying out activities incompatible with diplomatic status, in a move that could mark a significant change in Budapest’s approach to Russian intelligence operations. Moscow has already warned of a “tough and painful” response. The deputy speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament said that the decision was an unfriendly and confrontational act.
Hungary has ordered 10 Russian diplomatic personnel to leave the country after authorities determined that they had engaged in activities deemed unacceptable under the Vienna Convention.
Foreign Minister Anita Orbán announced the decision on Tuesday, saying the Foreign Ministry had informed Russia’s ambassador in Budapest that Hungarian authorities had identified activities by 10 members of the Russian diplomatic mission that were incompatible with their diplomatic status.
“The decision protects Hungary’s security and sovereignty,” Orbán said, while stressing that the move does not amount to a severing of diplomatic relations with Russia. Hungary, she added, intends to maintain the necessary dialogue with Moscow based on mutual respect and compliance with international rules.
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Expert: The diplomats were Russian intelligence officers
According to Russia expert András Rácz, the wording used by the Hungarian government strongly indicates that the 10 individuals were actually Russian intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover. Rácz, deputy director-general responsible for research and academic affairs at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, told MTI that the phrase “activities incompatible with diplomatic status” traditionally refers to espionage.
In practical terms, he said, Hungary has expelled 10 Russian diplomats who were allegedly working as intelligence officers under diplomatic cover in Budapest.
The scale of the move is particularly significant. According to Rácz, more than 600 Russian intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover have been expelled from EU member states since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Until now, Hungary had been the only EU member state not to carry out such a large-scale expulsion. Rácz therefore described the decision as Hungary effectively joining its EU and NATO allies in efforts to reduce Russia’s intelligence capabilities across the bloc.
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Why has Hungary acted now?
The timing of the expulsions is particularly noteworthy given Hungary’s historically close relationship with Moscow under the previous Orbán government.
Rácz said he could not determine precisely why Budapest had chosen this particular moment to act. However, he argued that the decision represents a significant shift in Hungary’s position towards Russian intelligence activities. He also pointed out that, according to official Foreign Ministry figures, 47 Russian diplomats are currently accredited in Hungary, accompanied by 41 spouses.
It is not publicly known how many of the remaining diplomats are connected to Russian intelligence services. However, Rácz noted that a Russian investigative outlet recently identified 15 of the 47 Russian diplomats in Budapest as having links to various Russian intelligence agencies based on publicly available information.
He added that while there had been some “quiet expulsions” of Russian intelligence personnel during the previous Hungarian government, there had never before been a publicly announced expulsion on this scale.
Budapest sends a message to its Western allies
The decision could have implications beyond Hungary’s bilateral relationship with Russia. Rácz argued that Russian intelligence officers based in Hungary can potentially operate elsewhere in the Schengen Area, making their presence a security concern for Hungary’s allies as well. He pointed to Prague as a previous example of how Russian diplomats could use one European capital as a base for intelligence operations in neighbouring countries.
According to the expert, Russian intelligence personnel operating from Budapest have similarly been able to conduct operations elsewhere in the Schengen Area and in Balkan countries outside the zone.
For this reason, Rácz described Hungary’s decision as a long-overdue step towards its EU and NATO partners. He argued that Hungary’s failure to expel such personnel over the previous four and a half years had potentially harmed the security interests of its allies.
Moscow threatens retaliation
Russia has responded angrily to the expulsions. Konstantin Kosachev, deputy speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, told the RIA Novosti news agency that the decision was an unfriendly and confrontational act. He argued that the simultaneous expulsion of 10 diplomats was “many times more unfriendly” and amounted to an open challenge to Moscow. Russia, he said, would respond accordingly.
Kosachev also claimed that the decision had been driven by Brussels, arguing that the “post-Orbán” Hungary had been pressured to demonstrate its loyalty to what he described as the anti-Russian policies of the EU and NATO.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova likewise warned that Moscow would deliver a “tough and painful response”, referring to what she called the “Russophobic lobby” in Budapest. A reciprocal move is therefore widely expected, with Rácz saying Russia is almost certain to respond proportionally by expelling Hungarian diplomats.
Well if a Russian investigative outlet identified 15 Russian diplomats as having links to Russian intelligence agencies there are at least five more that need to be expelled. Notice how the Russians immediately respond with flaming aggressive rhetoric. It should be a reminder that that country is a malevolent threat to Hungary and Europe and whatever diplomatic presence Russia is allowed to have in this country should be kept to the minimum necessary for bilateral relations and should be strictly monitored by Hungarian authorities.