Audio recordings obtained by investigative journalists have revealed Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó promising Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov assistance in undermining European Union sanctions against Moscow, providing the strongest evidence to date of systematic collusion between Budapest and the Kremlin.
The recordings, published by VSquare.org and United24Media, document phone conversations between Szijjártó and Lavrov in which the Hungarian minister discusses strategies to weaken EU sanctions packages and delay security assistance to Ukraine. Slovakia is also implicated in serving as a secondary channel for sensitive EU policy discussions to reach Moscow.
"We are working within the institutions to moderate these measures," Szijjártó tells Lavrov in one recording, according to the United24Media report. In another conversation, he provides advance notice of planned EU discussions on Ukraine military aid, allowing Russia to prepare diplomatic countermeasures.
This is the smoking gun that confirms years of suspicions about Hungary's role as a Trojan horse within the European Union. Since Prime Minister Viktor Orbán began his self-described "illiberal democracy" project in 2010, Hungary has consistently blocked or diluted EU responses to Russian aggression. The recordings provide evidence that this obstruction is not merely ideological disagreement but active coordination with an adversary power.
The leaked conversations span from 2022 to 2025, covering the period following 's full-scale invasion of . They reveal discussing EU energy policy, sanctions design, and internal European Council negotiations—all classified information that should never reach foreign governments, particularly those designated as security threats.
