The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) identified Zoltan Andre, a career officer of the Hungarian military intelligence. He led an espionage network in the Zakarpattia region, which Ukrainian counterintelligence neutralized in early 2025 during the full-scale invasion.
The Security Service of Ukraine reported that the officer utilized Hungarian diplomatic missions to find potential collaborators. Andre analyzed personal data from residents who applied for Hungarian citizenship. He offered candidates money, administrative preferences, or even illegal drugs in exchange for classified information.
Intelligence Operations in Ukraine
The investigation shows that Zoltan Andre recruited a former soldier from the Berehove district in 2021. The agent remained in “standby mode” until September 2024, when Andre activated him for specific missions. The collaborator tracked the locations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and identified air defense positions in the western region.
Another member of the network was a former female contract soldier from a Ukrainian combat brigade. Additionally, the Hungarian officer attempted to recruit an active-duty serviceman. Instead of financial rewards, Andre promised him regular supplies of drugs for “personal needs.” The handler usually conducted meetings in his private car using an operational alias.
Andre’s record suggests a pattern of subversive activities in different countries.
“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,” the SBU stated.
After returning from the South Caucasus, he shifted his focus to subversive work against Ukraine.
Previously, The Ukrainian Review reported that the European Union began limiting Hungary’s participation in discussions on sensitive issues. Brussels officials remain concerned that confidential information could leak to Russia due to Budapest’s close ties with the Kremlin.
