The Counterintelligence Department of the Security Service of Ukraine has identified a Hungarian military intelligence officer who led an agent network exposed by the SSU in the spring of 2025 in Zakarpattia.

At that time, the Security Service detained two members of a spy cell who were gathering intelligence on the region’s military defences, local socio-political sentiments, and the potential public reaction to a possible Hungarian military incursion.

According to the investigation, the activities of the foreign spy ring were directed by a career officer of Hungary’s military intelligence –Zoltán Andre.

He personally conducted covert meetings in Hungary with one of his informants from Zakarpattia, who had been spying in the western region of Ukraine and was subsequently detained by the SSU Counterintelligence.

As the investigation revealed, from 2016 to 2020, Andre was in Georgia, where he conducted intelligence activities under the cover of a representative of the Hungarian diplomatic mission.

After returning from the South Caucasus in 2021, he began intelligence and sabotage activities against Ukraine.

That same year, he personally recruited a former soldier from Berehove district, Ukraine, and put him on standby. Then, in September 2024, Andre activated the agent and instructed him to spy in Zakarpattia.

It has been documented that the traitor scouted the deployment locations of the Defence Forces, specifically attempting to identify combat positions of Ukrainian air defence units protecting the skies over Ukraine’s western region.

On Andre’s orders, the agent was tasked with finding ‘candidates’ for recruitment into the Hungarian military intelligence network. In the focus of the foreign intelligence officer were former and serving military personnel, as well as employees of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.

Furthermore, according to available data, Andre exploited Hungarian diplomatic missions in Zakarpattia for recruitment purposes, utilizing the personal data found in citizenship applications submitted by local residents.

To secure their cooperation, the foreign intelligence operative offered financial rewards and various preferential treatments from the Hungarian state.

It was established that Andre conducted most of his recruitment interviews and agent meetings in his own car. He also used an operational alias.

The next person Andre recruited was a former contract soldier from one of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ combat brigades. She was soon detained by the Security Service along with another agent.

Additionally, another Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemember was identified whom the Hungarian operative attempted to recruit. Instead of monetary compensation, he promised this person regular supplies of narcotics for ‘personal use’.

Currently, the SSU Counterintelligence is continuing efforts to identify all members of the Hungarian spy network who acted to the detriment of Ukraine. Each of the perpetrators will be found and held accountable for crimes against our state.

The Security Service of Ukraine calls for public vigilance. Citizens are urged to report any dubious offers, suspicious individuals, or potential intelligence-gathering activities by hostile intelligence services. If you encounter recruitment-linked websites or social media pages, please report this to the SSU immediately at:

• Chatbot Burn the FSB-man – t.me/spaly_fsb_bot
• Tel.: 0 800 501 482
• Email: callcenter@ssu.gov.ua