Hungary’s government said it will release a national security report it describes as evidence behind Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s claims that Ukraine illegally financed the opposition Tisza party ahead of Hungary’s April 12 election. The announcement came after Orbán pushed for journalists to ask that the classified report be made public, and his chief of staff later said the declassification process is underway.
The report declassification is expected to add to the pressure of a high-stakes campaign in which Orbán faces what the government and supporters have described as a major political challenge, with polls showing him trailing his center-right rival, Péter Magyar, and his Tisza party. AP reported that Orbán has maintained cordial relations with Russia’s leadership while increasingly relying on an aggressive anti-Ukraine campaign as the vote approaches.
In an ATV interview last week, Orbán said “significant” sums had been provided to Tisza by Ukraine for the development of IT applications and voter mobilization efforts, AP reported. The Hungarian prime minister also argued that his claims were “not assumptions, but facts” based on a national security committee report, according to AP.
Magyar, the 44-year-old lawyer and a former insider in Orbán’s Fidesz party, denied the allegations, AP reported. Hungary’s government earlier said the report will be declassified, with Gergely Gulyás, Orbán’s chief of staff, telling reporters that “the declassification process is underway” and that the report would be released “in the foreseeable future,” AP reported.
The campaign message, as described by AP, has framed the election as existential for Hungary’s future, in part by arguing that a change of government would bankrupt the country by supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and by sending Hungary’s youth to fight on the front lines. AP said the campaign has used disinformation and that it has relied heavily on pictures and videos generated using artificial intelligence.
Orbán’s government has also used public funds for billboards featuring an AI-altered image of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, AP reported. The billboards include a caption reading: “We won’t let Zelenskyy have the last laugh!”
Alongside the party-funding allegations, AP reported that Hungary has raised concerns about possible Russian intelligence efforts to influence the election in Orbán’s favor. Ukraine’s side has rejected Hungary’s portrayal of events, while AP reported that Hungary has placed military forces at key energy infrastructure sites and accused Ukraine of planning disruptions.
Hungary also recently vetoed a new round of EU sanctions against Russia and blocked a major 90-billion-euro ($104-billion) EU loan for Kyiv, AP reported, pointing to retaliation after an interruption in Russian oil shipments across Ukraine. Separately, AP said masked commandos with Hungary’s Counter Terrorism Center detained seven Ukrainian state bank employees and seized two armored vehicles carrying 40 million U.S. dollars, 35 million euros, and 9 kilograms (19.8 pounds) of gold last week.
AP reported that the bank employees were deported to Ukraine after more than a day in detention, but that the money and gold remained in Hungary. Ukraine said the shipment traveling from Austria to Ukraine across Hungary was part of regular services between state banks, and AP reported that Ukraine’s foreign minister accused Hungary of “state terrorism” and “taking hostages.”