The Kremlin has dispatched a team of political technologists to interfere in Hungary’s parliamentary elections, scheduled for April 2026. The main objective: to help Prime Minister Viktor Orbán retain power.
According to sources in European security, coordination of the operation to support Viktor Orbán has been assigned to Sergey Kiriyenko, the first deputy chief of staff to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, VSquare reports in its investigation.
He is described as the architect of Russia’s political influence infrastructure, both domestically and abroad.
A former head of Rosatom, Kiriyenko views foreign elections as an extension of Russia’s political management toolkit. Previously, Moldova served as a venue where his operation rolled out vote-buying networks, troll farms and on-the-ground operatives to sway elections against pro-European President Maia Sandu.
Russia is now trying to apply that playbook in Hungary. NATO is likely already aware of the Kremlin’s efforts to bolster Orbán’s campaign and is monitoring the situation.
The plan, according to the report, is to station Russian social media manipulation experts at the Russian Embassy in Budapest, issuing them diplomatic or service passports. The goal is immunity from prosecution - a “lesson” Russia drew from Moldova, where authorities spent years dismantling the embassy’s activities before ultimately cutting Russia’s diplomatic staff by more than two-thirds.
VSquare’s sources say the Budapest arrangement calls for a three-person team operating out of the embassy on behalf of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence.
It wouldn’t be the first time Russian operatives with opaque roles have worked from Budapest’s diplomatic infrastructure. Meanwhile, pro-Orbán media are amplifying Kremlin-linked anti-Ukrainian narratives more loudly than ever—a cover for a Russian media operation that functions best when the information ecosystem is already favorable.
Polling out of Budapest has alarmed the ruling Fidesz party. Last week, Median, one of Hungary’s most respected independent pollsters, published a survey showing the TISZA party leading Fidesz by twenty points.
Economist Serhiy Fursa has argued that escalating tensions between Kyiv and Budapest could benefit both the Kremlin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. In his view, actions by Hungarian authorities - such as blocking Ukrainian funds and detaining cash-in-transit couriers - may be a deliberate provocation intended to trigger a harsh response from Ukraine.
Earlier, the detention of Ukrainian cash couriers in central Budapest caused a stir in bilateral relations. Focus examined how the incident could become one of the most high-profile diplomatic scandals between Ukraine and Hungary in recent years - potentially carrying political consequences for Orbán and for his relations with the European Union.
