HUNGARY EXPELS 10 RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS.
Budapest says they broke the Vienna rules. Moscow vows a painful response.
Desk file · 8 SEP 2026 · 10:33 GMT
Hungary expelled 10 Russian diplomats on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Anita Orbán said they had engaged in activities unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention. She did not publish a charge sheet.
Moscow said the reply would be painful. The Russian foreign ministry accused Budapest of Russophobia, its standard line since other European capitals started sending Russian diplomats home after 2022.
This decision protects Hungary’s security and sovereignty.
The move lands months after Viktor Orbán lost power. Under him, Hungary expelled none of the post-invasion wave. The new government says the decision protects sovereignty and does not break off relations.
Filed from wires: Reuters, AP, 8 September 2026. NTH MERIDIAN does not invent counts.
