Hungary is set to expel 10 Russian diplomats from the country, Budapest's Foreign Minister Anita Orbán wrote on social media earlier today. According to Orbán, several Russian diplomatic mission staff members “had engaged in activities in Hungary that are unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention.” She stressed, however, that the decision “does not imply breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia.”
Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of Russian diplomats have been expelled from EU member states. Hungary, however, whose government was previously led by the Kremlin-friendly Viktor Orbán, did not participate in these measures. The last time a Russian diplomatic mission employee was officially declared persona non grata in Hungary was in 2018.
Current foreign minister Orbán said she had instructed a subordinate to inform Russian Ambassador to Hungary Yevgeny Stanislavov that “10 members of the Russian mission had engaged in activities in Hungary that are unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention.” As she stressed:
“The Hungarian side has therefore called on the individuals in question to leave Hungary. This decision protects Hungary’s security and sovereignty. It does not imply breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia. Hungary intends to continue the necessary dialogue, based on mutual respect and adherence to the rules.”
As reported by the independent news outlet Vot Tak, between February 2022 and October 2025, nearly 700 Russian diplomats were expelled from European countries (those of the EU, plus Montenegro, Norway, North Macedonia, and the UK). Hungary was the only EU member that did not join such measures. Before today, the last time Budapest had declared a Russian diplomat to be persona non grata was in March 2018, when Hungary joined a mass expulsion of Russian diplomats by Western countries over the poisoning of former GRU Colonel Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the city of Salisbury, England.
Earlier this year, the Hungarian government also expelled an undercover Russian agent. On May 8, 2026, investigative outlet VSquare reported on the expulsion of Russian spy Artur Sushkov, who had been working in Hungary under diplomatic cover. He was forced to leave the country with his wife on May 4, five days before the government officially changed hands following Viktor Orbán's electoral defeat.
VSquare noted that Hungarian counterintelligence had been pushing for Sushkov’s expulsion since February 2026, but the Orbán government had blocked the proposal. According to the outlet, the authorities did not want to risk worsening relations with Moscow ahead of Hungary’s elections. Sushkov’s ultimate expulsion took place quietly, without any official announcements.
Budapest’s rhetoric changed after Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party lost the April elections and Péter Magyar became prime minister. The new Hungarian government said it viewed Russia’s actions as a threat to Hungary itself, as well as to Europe and the to the wider “global order.”
