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Hungary has quietly expelled a Russian spy operating under diplomatic cover who infiltrated right-wing and foreign policy think tanks close to the Orbán government — running informants and scouting for potential recruits, VSquare has learned from multiple Hungarian government sources.
Artur Sushkov, a 36-year-old third secretary at the Russian Embassy in Budapest, was forced to leave the country along with his spouse on May 4, 2026. Sushkov was identified by Hungarian authorities as an undercover officer of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
The expulsion came months later than Hungary’s own counterintelligence service had wanted. The Orbán government had blocked an earlier proposal to send Sushkov home in February 2026, according to a government source — a delay driven by political calculation. With Russia actively supporting Orbán’s reelection bid, his government was unwilling to risk straining ties with Moscow in the middle of a campaign.
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Together with our consortium partners, we have also revealed audio recordings and transcripts of phone conversations showing how Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó served Russian interests in Brussels — helping remove individuals and entities from sanctions lists — and how he colluded with [Russian foreign Minister] Sergey Lavrov, leaking EU documents and coordinating efforts to block Ukraine’s EU accession process.
“Similar situations occurred more than once under the Orbán government,” said Péter Buda, a former Hungarian counterintelligence officer — referring to the Orbán government’s pattern of opposing or delaying the expulsion of Russian spies operating under diplomatic cover.
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Sushkov’s operations were aggressive enough that even the Orbán government considered expelling him — but the sensitivity of such a move during the campaign bought him time.
According to a Hungarian government source, Hungarian counterintelligence, working jointly with a NATO country’s partner agency, first thought that Sushkov could be a potential recruitment target. (In an earlier interview with VSquare, former Hungarian counterintelligence officer Ferenc Katerein explained how expulsions work, and that they are sometimes preceded by a recruitment attempt.)
Once it became clear he could not be turned, Sushkov and his wife were quietly expelled for violating the Vienna Convention — the official euphemism for espionage.
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Quiet expulsions have long been a hallmark of the Orbán government’s approach — even when declaring Russian diplomats persona non grata, Budapest kept such measures secret to minimize friction with the Kremlin. At the same time, this method also signals to the Kremlin that they can operate in Hungary more boldly, as the retaliation is intentionally softened.
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“The activities of Russian intelligence services in Hungary were not necessarily or exclusively directed against Hungarian targets, but also against other countries in the Schengen area. Let us not forget, after all, that Russia is waging a hybrid war against Europe. It can therefore be stated that the Orbán government contributed, at the very least indirectly, to the success of this war,” former counterintelligence officer Péter Buda told.