Hungary expels 10 Russian diplomats as Péter Magyar breaks with Orbán-era Moscow policy

Hungary has expelled 10 Russian diplomats from Moscow’s mission in Budapest after authorities concluded that they had engaged in activities incompatible with their diplomatic status, delivering the strongest public signal yet that the country’s relationship with Russia has changed fundamentally under Prime Minister Péter Magyar. Foreign Minister Anita Orbán, who is not related to former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, said the government had instructed the Russian ambassador that the officials must leave because their conduct was unacceptable under the Vienna Convention. Russia immediately condemned the move and promised retaliation.

The expulsions are particularly significant because Hungary spent most of the previous 16 years as the European Union member maintaining the closest political relationship with Vladimir Putin’s government. Viktor Orbán repeatedly challenged European sanctions, resisted some forms of assistance to Ukraine and defended continued dependence on Russian energy, leaving Budapest frequently isolated from its EU and NATO partners. Péter Magyar’s Tisza party ended that era in April with a landslide election victory that gave the new government a large parliamentary majority and an explicit mandate to rebuild relations with European allies.

The Magyar government is nevertheless trying to distinguish strategic realignment from a complete rupture with Moscow. Anita Orbán said the diplomatic expulsions were intended to protect Hungarian security and sovereignty but did not mean Budapest would end necessary dialogue with Russia, an approach consistent with Magyar’s campaign position that Hungary should reduce one-sided dependence without pretending Russia can simply disappear from the country’s economic and security calculations. Moscow has rejected that distinction, with Ambassador Evgeny Stanislavov arguing that Hungarian assurances about maintaining pragmatic cooperation have lost credibility after the expulsions.

Why has Hungary expelled 10 Russian diplomats only months after Viktor Orbán left power?

The immediate reason given by Budapest is alleged activity inconsistent with diplomatic status, although Hungarian authorities have not publicly released detailed evidence describing what each expelled official is accused of doing. Anita Orbán said the government had acted after assessments by Hungarian authorities and presented the decision as necessary for national sovereignty rather than as a symbolic punishment for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Expelling 10 diplomats at once is unusually large for Hungary and represents the country’s first public action of this type against Russian officials since 2018.

The broader explanation lies in Hungary’s domestic political transformation. Péter Magyar defeated Viktor Orbán in the April 12 election after campaigning heavily on corruption, economic stagnation and the argument that the previous government had allowed Hungary to drift too far toward Moscow while losing influence in Brussels. Tisza secured more than 70% of the seats in the 199-member National Assembly according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s election summary, giving Magyar unusually strong institutional authority to change foreign policy quickly.

The diplomatic decision therefore carries meaning beyond the 10 individuals involved. For years, European governments questioned whether Hungary would act against suspected Russian intelligence activity with the same willingness as other NATO members, while Budapest often accused its partners of pursuing unnecessarily confrontational policies. The September expulsions signal that the new government wants Hungarian counterintelligence and foreign policy to move much closer to the approach taken elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe.

How different is Péter Magyar’s Russia policy from Viktor Orbán’s approach?

Viktor Orbán cultivated a pragmatic and often openly friendly relationship with Moscow, arguing that Hungary’s geography and energy dependence required continued cooperation despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His government repeatedly resisted European efforts that it believed threatened Hungarian energy supplies and became an important internal obstacle to some EU decisions on sanctions and assistance for Kyiv. That stance made Orbán a valued political partner for Moscow while generating persistent tensions with Brussels.

Magyar has not promised an immediate elimination of Russian energy imports or a completely adversarial relationship. During the election campaign, he argued that Hungary should diversify energy connections and reduce vulnerability rather than abruptly shutting down existing Russian supplies, while presenting continued membership of the EU and NATO as fundamental to Hungarian security and prosperity. That formulation gives the new government room to cooperate with Moscow in limited areas while rejecting the political alignment associated with the previous administration.

The expulsions demonstrate how that distinction works in practice. Budapest is prepared to take a confrontational security measure that would have been far less likely under the previous government, but it is simultaneously emphasising that diplomatic channels will remain open. Magyar’s strategy appears designed to restore Western trust without turning every Hungarian-Russian commercial or diplomatic connection into an ideological test.

Why is Russia threatening retaliation against Hungary’s new government?

Diplomatic expulsions are usually answered reciprocally because governments view them as challenges to their sovereign representation abroad. Russia’s ambassador described Hungary’s action as unprecedented and unjustified, while Moscow indicated it would respond against Hungarian diplomatic personnel or interests. Such retaliation could reduce embassy staffing and make routine consular, political and economic engagement harder for both governments.

The political stakes are larger because Russia is losing one of its most favourable relationships inside the European Union. Viktor Orbán frequently provided Moscow with evidence that European unity on Russia was incomplete, whereas Magyar’s government is actively repairing relations with EU and NATO partners. Every step that brings Hungary closer to the European mainstream therefore reduces Russia’s ability to rely on Budapest as an internal counterweight to tougher European policy.

Moscow may consequently look for pressure points beyond diplomatic staffing, including energy ties, commercial relations or political messaging directed at Hungarian voters. Hungary still has meaningful economic exposure to Russia, which means Magyar cannot treat the foreign-policy realignment as cost-free even with his strong parliamentary position.

How does Hungary’s move fit into the wider European campaign against alleged Russian hybrid operations?

The expulsions come during a period of heightened European concern about alleged Russian sabotage, espionage and infrastructure attacks. Germany has formally blamed Russian state agencies for the explosive-drone operation at Leipzig/Halle Airport, while Romanian authorities announced on September 8 that they had detained a Russian national accused of photographing NATO bases, communications sites, military equipment and Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft as part of an alleged sabotage operation coordinated through an intermediary.

Russia denies conducting a campaign of sabotage against European states and regularly accuses NATO governments of using security allegations to justify hostile policies. European intelligence services, by contrast, increasingly argue that Moscow is using intermediaries and people outside formal intelligence structures to conduct surveillance, arson and other disruptive activity while preserving a degree of deniability. Hungary’s expulsions place Budapest much more firmly on the European side of that argument.

The European Commission publicly backed Hungary’s decision and linked it with wider concerns about Russian hybrid activity. That reaction matters because Magyar has made restoration of EU trust central to his government, particularly after years in which Hungary faced frozen funds and persistent rule-of-law disputes with Brussels.

Could the expulsions change Hungary’s dependence on Russian energy?

Not immediately, because diplomatic staffing and energy infrastructure operate on very different timelines. Hungary’s economy remains connected to Russian oil and gas through pipelines and long-term commercial arrangements that cannot simply be replaced because political relations deteriorate. Magyar himself argued before taking office that diversification should be gradual and supported by expanded cross-border infrastructure rather than abrupt disengagement.

The strategic direction is nevertheless clear. The government wants additional supply routes and less dependence on any single provider, partly because the war in Ukraine has demonstrated how energy relationships can become geopolitical vulnerabilities. European Union funding and regional pipeline investment could become increasingly important if Budapest accelerates that diversification agenda.

Russia therefore retains leverage, but less political influence than it enjoyed under Viktor Orbán. If Magyar successfully combines alternative energy connections with stronger EU relations, the cost of future Hungarian confrontation with Moscow could gradually decline.

What are the key takeaways from Hungary’s expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats?

• Hungary has ordered 10 Russian diplomats to leave after accusing them of activities incompatible with their diplomatic status under the Vienna Convention.
• Foreign Minister Anita Orbán says the decision protects Hungarian security and sovereignty but does not amount to severing diplomatic relations with Moscow.
• Russia has condemned the expulsions and promised retaliation, raising the likelihood of reciprocal action against Hungarian diplomats.
• The move is Hungary’s largest public action against Russian diplomats in years and represents a sharp departure from Viktor Orbán’s comparatively Moscow-friendly approach.
• Péter Magyar defeated Viktor Orbán in April after 16 years of Fidesz rule and has made repairing relations with the European Union and NATO a central government objective.
• The expulsions coincide with wider European allegations of Russian sabotage and intelligence activity, including a newly announced Romanian case involving surveillance of NATO and Ukrainian military assets.

Does the diplomatic expulsion confirm that Hungary’s pro-Russian era inside the European Union is over?

The political era associated with Viktor Orbán’s special relationship with Moscow has clearly ended, even if practical cooperation with Russia continues. Magyar’s government is showing that security disputes will now be handled much more like those of Hungary’s NATO partners, while Budapest is simultaneously reducing the political exceptionalism that made it such an unusual EU member during the Ukraine war.

The remaining question is how durable that change will prove when it begins imposing economic costs. Diplomatic expulsions are comparatively easy to announce, while replacing Russian energy, rebuilding European trust and managing retaliation from Moscow require years of policy implementation.

September 8 nevertheless provides a significant marker because Budapest has moved from promising geopolitical reorientation to accepting a direct confrontation with Russia over national security. For Moscow, Hungary can no longer be assumed to occupy the uniquely accommodating position inside the EU that it held for much of the previous decade.