The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has denied the statements made by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó regarding an alleged intention by Kyiv to ban the activities of the “Society of Hungarian Culture in Transcarpathia.” The relevant comment was provided by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Georgiy Tykhyy.
This is reported by Kyiv24
“Our official response is simple: no such actions regarding the mentioned society have been taken. Media reports claiming otherwise are false. Our bilateral relations already have enough problems that need to be addressed; there is no need to add various unfounded media reports to this list.”
Statements by Hungarian Officials and Diplomatic Disputes
On May 27, Peter Szijjártó, in his address on Facebook, urged the Ukrainian government to provide “immediate clarification regarding media reports about the ban on the party representing the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia and fighting for its rights.” On the same day, Hungary’s Minister for EU Affairs, János Bóka, accused Ukraine of conducting information operations on the territory of his country. According to Bóka, this complicates the negotiation process regarding Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
As early as March 2025, the Hungarian side blocked the opening of the first negotiation cluster for Ukraine with the EU. The reason was objections to Ukrainian legislation on national minorities, which Kyiv has repeatedly reformed at Budapest’s request.
Mutual Accusations of Espionage and Diplomatic Moves
On May 10, the Hungarian government reported the detention of a Ukrainian citizen by the TEK intelligence agency, who was subsequently deported and banned from entering the country on suspicion of “espionage activities.” The day before, Peter Szijjártó announced the expulsion of two Ukrainian diplomats from Budapest, accusing them of “espionage.” In response, Kyiv also expelled two Hungarian diplomats.
On May 9, the Security Service of Ukraine announced the exposure of an intelligence network of the Hungarian military intelligence that was conducting espionage activities on Ukrainian territory. The Hungarian Foreign Minister noted at that time that Budapest had not received official information from the Ukrainian side regarding the detention of two individuals in Transcarpathia suspected of working for Hungarian intelligence.