BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian officials announced Thursday they will make public a classified intelligence document that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán claims contains evidence his primary political rival accepted unlawful financial support from Ukraine.
The embattled leader is confronting the most serious electoral threat of his political tenure in the upcoming April 12 election, with polling data showing him behind center-right challenger Péter Magyar and his Tisza party.
With the voting date drawing near, Orbán — who has cultivated friendly ties with Moscow — has intensified his anti-Ukraine messaging, alleging that Kyiv, the European Union, and the Tisza party are collaborating in a plot to remove his administration and replace it with one more sympathetic to Ukrainian interests.
The Hungarian leader has made repeated assertions that Ukraine has provided financial backing to Tisza, though he has not offered proof to support these claims. During a television appearance on ATV last week, Orbán stated that Ukraine had given “significant” amounts of money to Tisza for developing technology platforms and organizing voter outreach activities.
Magyar has rejected these accusations.
Orbán insisted his statements were “not assumptions, but facts” documented in a national security committee analysis, and urged reporters to push for the document’s public release.
“I don’t think the state would withhold this information from you,” Orbán said.
During Thursday’s press briefing, Orbán’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyás confirmed that “the declassification process is underway,” adding the document would be made available “in the foreseeable future.”
Facing an election just one month away, with citizens frustrated by economic stagnation, deteriorating public services, and persistent corruption scandals, Orbán has framed the election outcome as critical to Hungary’s survival.
Orbán’s campaign strategy centers on warning voters that a new administration would devastate Hungary’s finances through Ukrainian support against Russia’s military offensive, while forcing Hungarian young people into deadly combat roles. This messaging campaign, filled with false information, has extensively utilized artificially generated images and videos.
Hungarian authorities have spent taxpayer money on nationwide billboard displays showing a digitally altered photo of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a menacing grin. The text declares: “We won’t let Zelenskyy have the last laugh!”
In contrast, Magyar, a 44-year-old attorney who previously worked within Orbán’s Fidesz party, has raised concerns about potential Russian intelligence interference designed to benefit Orbán in the election.
The Tisza party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Orbán’s administration has firmly rejected EU monetary and weapons assistance for Ukraine, and pledged to block any EU efforts to admit Ukraine as a member.
Hungary recently prevented new EU penalties against Russia and stopped a massive 90-billion-euro ($104-billion) loan package for Kyiv in response to disruptions in Russian oil deliveries through Ukraine.
Orbán has also positioned military personnel at critical energy facilities throughout Hungary, claiming Ukraine is planning sabotage operations.
Last week, masked Hungarian Counter Terrorism Center operatives arrested seven Ukrainian state bank workers and seized two armored trucks containing 40 million U.S. dollars, 35 million euros, and 9 kilograms (19.8 pounds) of gold.
The banking officials were sent back to Ukraine after being held for more than 24 hours, but the cash and gold, valued at approximately $82 million, remained in Hungarian custody.
This incident sparked outrage from Ukraine, which explained the shipment was traveling from Austria to Ukraine through Hungary as part of routine inter-bank operations. Ukraine’s foreign minister condemned Hungary for “state terrorism” and “taking hostages.”
