Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in a televised address on Tuesday, accused Ukraine of launching a covert operation aimed at undermining a planned national referendum on Ukraine’s potential membership in the European Union.
Speaking after a meeting with Hungary’s National Security Council, Orbán alleged that Ukrainian intelligence services were coordinating with Hungarian opposition parties to obstruct the referendum process.
Hungary is currently conducting a national consultative vote—VOKS2025—to gauge public opinion on Ukraine’s prospective EU accession. The vote began on April 15 and is scheduled to run through the end of May.
Orbán’s remarks come amid a sharp escalation in tensions between Hungary and Ukraine over the past week. The latest dispute began last Friday when Ukraine expelled two Hungarian diplomats, accusing them of espionage. According to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), the diplomats were gathering intelligence in Zakarpattia Oblast—also known as Transcarpathia—a region home to a significant ethnic Hungarian minority.
Hungary retaliated the following day by expelling two Ukrainian diplomats on similar charges of spying under diplomatic cover.
The tit-for-tat expulsions led to the cancellation of a bilateral meeting planned for Monday, which was intended to address long-standing concerns over the rights of the ethnic Hungarian community in Transcarpathia. Relations between the two countries have remained strained since 2014, when Ukraine implemented policies perceived by Budapest as curtailing the rights of ethnic Hungarians in the region, which was part of Hungary prior to 1945.
Hungary’s refusal to support Ukraine in its war with Russia has further soured bilateral ties. Prime Minister Orbán has accused Ukraine of disproportionately drafting ethnic Hungarians into military service, a claim that has inflamed tensions.
In April 2022, following his parliamentary election victory, Orbán also accused Ukraine of attempting to interfere in Hungary’s domestic politics. In his victory speech, he singled out Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, referring to him as an “opponent.”