Hungary is expelling ten Russian diplomats it accuses of engaging in activities incompatible with their diplomatic status, Foreign Minister Anita Orban announced Tuesday, in the sharpest rupture yet between Budapest and Moscow since Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s government took office in May.
Orban said the diplomats “had engaged in activities in Hungary that are unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention,” the treaty that governs the conduct of foreign missions. She said the Russian ambassador in Budapest was informed of the decision and that the ten individuals have been given a deadline to leave the country.
“The decision protects the security and sovereignty of Hungary,” Orban said, adding that Budapest does not consider the move a break in relations with Moscow. “We intend to continue the necessary dialogue, based on mutual respect and compliance with the rules,” she said.
A reversal under the new government
The expulsions mark a significant shift for Hungary, which spent more than a decade under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban as one of the European Union’s most Russia-friendly governments, frequently blocking or watering down EU sanctions packages against Moscow. Peter Magyar’s government, which took power in May 2026, had already expelled one Russian diplomat earlier this year over alleged intelligence-gathering activity.
Tensions between Budapest and Moscow have also been rising over Russian drone activity near Ukraine’s Zakarpattia region, home to a substantial ethnic Hungarian population. Orban said she summoned Russia’s ambassador after strikes in the area, calling the attacks “completely unacceptable.”
Russia’s response
Moscow has not detailed its response, though Russian officials have signaled it will not go unanswered. Russia has historically retaliated against European expulsions of its diplomats with reciprocal expulsions of Western diplomatic staff, as it did after similar moves by Baltic and Nordic states in recent years.
The expulsions come as the European Union continues to weigh further sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, a process Hungary has resisted in the past under its previous government.
Sources: Anadolu Agency · Sweden Herald
