Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered an inquiry into reports that reconnaissance drones, believed to have originated in Hungary, entered Ukraine’s airspace along the shared border.
The instruction followed a briefing from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. Zelenskyy said units had recorded incursions and that preliminary assessments indicated the aircraft may have surveyed the “industrial potential” of border districts. He directed officials to examine “all available data” and report on each incident without delay.
Hungary rejected the claim. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó responded on social media, deriding the allegation and saying Zelenskyy was “starting to see things that do not exist.” As of Friday evening, Budapest had not issued technical counter-evidence identifying the platforms or refuting the flight paths cited by Kyiv.
Kyiv has not released further details, including the number of flights, their profiles, or the precise locations. The government has not stated whether air-defence or electronic-warfare units attempted to track, jam, or intercept the aircraft. Reuters reported that an urgent review is under way, noting the broader context of strained bilateral ties.
The exchange recalls Hungary’s security posture on the Ukrainian frontier in the run-up to Russia’s full-scale invasion. On 22 February 2022—two days before the assault—Budapest announced the deployment of troops near the border, citing security and humanitarian tasks. Regional outlets recorded similar preparations as border states braced for potential refugee flows.
Analysts differ on the implications of those deployments. Some Hungarian and regional experts have framed them as contingency planning for an anticipated humanitarian crisis rather than offensive intent. Others, including commentators in Ukraine and abroad, have argued that Budapest has at times pursued intelligence collection in western Ukraine to gauge local sentiment and military dispositions in the event of a state-failure scenario in Kyiv—claims Hungary denies. Reporting this year included Ukrainian security service allegations of a Hungarian spy ring focused on Zakarpattia; Budapest dismissed the accusations and expelled Ukrainian diplomats.
The possibility of territorial designs periodically surfaces in political discourse. Hungary’s far-right opposition has publicly said it would “lay claim” to Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region if Ukraine were to lose statehood, a position not adopted by the government but cited by observers as contributing to regional sensitivities. Separately, Russian former president Dmitry Medvedev and other figures have promoted maps or narratives envisaging partition scenarios, further complicating perceptions.
Asked directly in an interview published in February 2024 whether he had ever promised part of Ukraine to Hungary, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had not and that the subject had not been discussed. There is no publicly available evidence that Moscow offered Budapest Ukrainian territory. Hungary’s official position rejects military involvement in Ukraine and emphasises border security, humanitarian support, and protection of ethnic Hungarians.
Against this backdrop, Friday’s drone allegation intersects with wider European concerns about airspace violations and low-cost unmanned systems operating below traditional air-defence thresholds. European defence ministers have discussed a “drone wall” concept to improve detection, tracking and interception along borders with Russia and Ukraine, underscoring a shift toward cooperative counter-UAS measures.
