Hungary says it has identified two more Ukrainian spies

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BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungarian security services have identified two Ukrainian spies, a government spokesman said on Tuesday, the latest in a series of mutual accusations of espionage between Budapest and Kyiv.

One of two men identified built ties with opposition figures and organized meetings with political and military figures “to sway Hungary’s stance on the Ukraine conflict”, government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said in a post on X.

The post, which quoted the head of the ruling party’s parliamentary group, Mate Kocsis, did not say when the activity occurred, but said a travel ban had been imposed against the man in 2024.

The second person sought military and energy intelligence and is under criminal investigation for espionage, Kovacs said.

Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.

Earlier this month Ukraine and Hungary said they were each expelling two diplomats after the countries accused each other of engaging in espionage, a row that marked a new low in relations between the two neighbours.

Hungary is part of the European Union and NATO, two blocs with which Kyiv is closely allied in its war with Russia.

But relations between Kyiv and Budapest have often been fraught over the rights of a large ethnic Hungarian minority living in western Ukraine.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been sceptical about Western military aid for Ukraine and said Hungary would not send weapons.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than; additional reporting by Max Hunder in Kyiv; Editing by Conor Humphries)