Hungary Quietly Expels Russian Spy Working at EmbassyHungary expelled 36-year-old third secretary at the Russian embassy in Budapest, Arthur Sushkov, from the country, reports VSquare citing sources in the government. Hungarian authorities discovered that he was using diplomatic cover to work for Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service.Details. Sushkov left Hungary on May 4 with his wife, writes VSquare. The operation against him was conducted by Hungary's Office for the Protection of the Constitution and security agencies from one NATO country, whose name is not disclosed.In Hungary, Sushkov infiltrated right-wing think tanks close to the government of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban, reports the publication. His interests included, among others, the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, the Hungarian Institute of International Relations, and the John Lukacs Institute of Strategy and Policy at the National University of Public Service, which trains Hungarian military personnel, law enforcement officers, and intelligence agents. All these institutions, as the publication writes, are controlled by Balazs Orban—a namesake of the former prime minister, who served as his political director and led his election campaign.At these institutions, he attended conferences and events, where he sought informal meetings with people who had connections to officials in Orban's government, describe the journalists.According to one of the publication's sources, Sushkov successfully began recruiting at least three people, and one of them had already undergone training from the Russian intelligence officer in covert communications and participated in closed meetings. Sushkov gave him expensive gifts and made it clear that valuable information could be paid for.Sushkov was interested in a wide range of information—from gossip about Hungarian officials to news about the Paks-2 nuclear power plant project and the Wi-Fi password for the internal network of the Institute of International Relations, writes the publication. He also tried to obtain from his informants details on political decisions by Hungarian authorities and the country's foreign policy plans, primarily regarding relations with Ukraine.Sushkov's name remained on the list of Russian embassy staff on the Hungarian Foreign Ministry's website. According to the information posted there, he was in Hungary with his wife, Svetlana Sushkova. His wife worked at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, note the journalists. A page with information about her is available on the academy's website.Sushkov and his wife are registered at two addresses in Kaliningrad that raise questions, writes VSquare. The first is a hotel room, the second is a shopping center (according to leaks studied by the Agency—referring to the Europe shopping center in the city center). Sushkov permanently resides in Moscow, and his father is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, notes the publication.Sushkov was sent to Hungary twice, writes the publication. First in 2019 as an attaché. In 2022, he left Hungary and returned on February 8, 2023, having been promoted to third secretary.Information about Sushkov's expulsion was not officially published, notes VSquare. The Hungarian government and the Russian embassy in the country did not respond to journalists' inquiries.The expulsion itself occurred later than the Hungarian counterintelligence wanted, reports the publication. They wanted to expel the embassy employee back in February 2026, but Orban's government blocked this decision, as it did not want to risk relations with Moscow in the midst of an election campaign, one of the sources told the journalists.According to VSquare's sources, at least 12 more SVR agents are working at the embassy in Budapest.Context. According to the Agency's estimates, out of 47 employees at the Russian embassy in Hungary, 15 are linked to various Russian special services, and another six may have ties to them, wrote the Agency in April. The involvement of special services in the work of Russia's diplomatic department in Hungary is higher than in Belgium, where NATO headquarters and offices of several EU bodies are located.Orban, who was a key ally of the Kremlin in the EU, lost local elections in mid-April and moved to the opposition.