Magyar vs. Moscow: Hungary toughens stance toward Russia

While Viktor Orban was in power, no other EU member state was as pro-Russia as Hungary . Indeed, the prime minister's apparent eagerness to be of service to the Russian president earned him the nickname "Putin's pinscher" or "Kremlin agent."

For years, Hungary was seen as a security risk both in the EU and NATO . Russian spies were able to operate in the country largely unhindered for a long time.

In February, it came to light that Peter Szijjarto, Orban's foreign minister from 2014 to 2026, had passed on confidential information from EU meetings to his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov .

All this came to an end in May , when the government headed by Peter Magyar took office .

In a clear departure from the government line under Orban, Hungary's new prime minister has already heavily criticized Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine several times.

The government also recently declared Russia a threat to Hungary's national security.

This week, it took its biggest step yet against the Kremlin, expelling 10 Russian diplomats for engaging in activities "that are unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention," as announced by Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orban (no relation to the former prime minister).

Although Orban did not provide any more details, the phrase is generally understood to mean that the diplomats in question were spies.