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Hungary expels 10 Russian diplomats as Budapest toughens line on Moscow
Hungary has expelled 10 Russian diplomats over activities deemed incompatible with diplomatic status under the Vienna Convention, in one of the clearest signs yet of Budapest’s tougher approach towards Moscow under Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s new government.
Foreign Minister Anita Orbán said the diplomats had engaged in activities in Hungary that the authorities considered unacceptable for diplomatic personnel. The Russian ambassador was informed of the decision on Tuesday and the individuals concerned were ordered to leave the country.
The move is aimed at protecting Hungary’s security and sovereignty, Orbán said, while stressing that it does not amount to a break in diplomatic relations with Russia.
“Hungary intends to continue the necessary dialogue, based on mutual respect and adherence to the rules,” she said.
The decision marks a notable departure from the previous government’s approach to Moscow. The government led by Magyar has sought to reposition Hungary’s foreign policy after more than a decade of Viktor Orbán’s rule, including by taking a more critical stance towards Russia and expressing stronger support for Ukraine.
PM Magyar also read the statement in parliament, saying the Tisza government would protect Hungary’s sovereignty.
The identities of the 10 Russian diplomats have not been disclosed, nor have the Hungarian authorities provided details of the activities that prompted their expulsion.
In Hungary’s position paper for the UN General Assembly, which begins on 8 September, Russia is explicitly identified as a source of danger and its war of aggression is officially condemned.
Anita Orbán has also adopted a more confrontational stance towards Russia than her predecessor, Péter Szijjártó. She summoned the Russian ambassador to the Foreign Ministry the day after her inauguration following a Russian drone attack on Transcarpathia. Szijjártó last summoned the Russian ambassador in 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Orbán has also repeatedly condemned Russian aggression and expressed solidarity with Ukraine following Russian attacks.
The shift in Budapest’s approach was also evident after the attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport in Germany in August. After Berlin concluded that Russia was responsible and described the incident as part of a broader pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe, Anita Orbán said Hungary was “deeply concerned” by the growing number and intensity of such activities and expressed full solidarity with Germany.
Berlin subsequently closed a Russian consulate and a Russian cultural centre, while Moscow retaliated by ordering the closure of the German consulate in St Petersburg and Goethe-Institut centres in Russia.
Russian intelligence activity
The process of expelling Russian intelligence personnel from Hungary had in fact begun days before Péter Magyar was sworn in as prime minister.
On 8 May, VSquare published an investigation reporting that Hungary had quietly expelled Russian intelligence officer Artur Sushkov and his wife after the Constitution Protection Office discovered that he had spent years gathering information about pro-government institutions while working under diplomatic cover at the Russian Embassy in Budapest.
According to government sources then cited by VSquare, Hungarian counter-intelligence had recommended Sushkov’s expulsion as early as February, but the Orbán government blocked the move.
Sushkov, 36, was posted to Hungary as third secretary at the Russian Embassy in Budapest. According to VSquare, his activities focused on organisations overseen by Balázs Orbán, the outgoing prime minister’s political director and head of Fidesz’s election campaign.
These included the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (Magyar Külügyi Intézet, MKI), and the John Lukacs Institute for Strategy and Politics at the Ludovika University of Public Service.
Sushkov first lived in Hungary from 2019 to 2022 before returning in February 2023, this time with his wife. He was subsequently promoted to third secretary at the Russian Embassy. His wife officially worked at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Sushkov attracted the attention of the Hungarian authorities by seeking private meetings with individuals associated with the MCC and MKI who were believed to have close ties to the Orbán government.
Sources: Telex.hu, Index.hu, VSquare
Caption: Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar speaks at a joint press conference with German Minister-President of Bavaria Markus Soeder (not pictured) following their meeting in the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office in Budapest, Hungary, 30 July 2026. EPA/Robert Hegedus
