The number of Russian refugees in Hungary is increasing. Over the year, their number has increased by almost a third, respectively by 30%, and most EU countries are increasingly expelling Russian diplomats because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to data collected by Sabolch Panyi, a journalist of the Center for Journalistic Investigations. , Direkt36 and presented by the TV channel RTL Hungary.

All this is happening in the context of the fact that in other member states of the European Union their numbers are decreasing due to their expulsion after the attacks on Ukraine by Russia, according to Nepshava, quoted by Rador.

At the end of November last year, 46 Russian diplomats worked in Hungary, but by the end of October this year, their number gradually increased and reached 62.

According to the data collected by Sabolch Panyi, for example, there are 35 Russian diplomats in London, 20 in Warsaw, and 15 in Bratislava. All this should be considered in light of the fact that most of them, in addition to a public mission, probably carry out activities , related to information services.

“Based on my experience, I can say that in the case of Russian diplomats, this number is quite high, about 60-70% of them are connected to the intelligence service,” said security policy expert Benedek Josef Kish, a former military intelligence officer .

And the director of Political Capital noted that, according to international experience, some Russian diplomats try to influence the political climate of the respective country.

“In Greece, for example, these diplomats actively tried to push the dispute between Greece and Macedonia over the name that the former Yugoslav republic would bear, despite the agreement, in a more extreme direction.

Russian diplomats were also expelled from Serbia, as there was a suspicion that they could be involved in the assassination attempt of the President of Montenegro, Milo Dukanovic,” explained Peter Kreko.

The topic of Russian diplomats will also be discussed at the meeting of the Committee on National Security of the Parliament, because the chairman of the committee, a member of the “Jobbik” party, has signaled that he will definitely contact the services on this matter.

Zoltan Sass also stated that if a counter-interested country increases its intelligence capabilities, this issue must definitely be fundamentally resolved.

According to signals, Orbán’s government does not seem too concerned about the matter.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Hungary responded in writing to RTL’s question that in each specific case it is the sovereign right of the sending country to determine the number of diplomats.

Moreover, in Hungary, all diplomats are subject to “necessary investigations in the field of national security,” which Hungarian authorities conduct “with particular care and caution,” according to Nepsava, as quoted by Rador.