Ukraine reports possible Hungarian drone intrusions along border region

Ukraine announced that multiple reconnaissance drones crossed into its airspace near the border with Hungary and are suspected of being Hungarian in origin.

“Ukrainian forces recorded violations of our airspace by reconnaissance drones, which are likely Hungarian,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post, Caliber.Az reports, citing Ukrainian media.

The remarks followed a military meeting attended by top officials, including Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Chief of the General Staff, the Defence Minister, and a senior presidential aide.

Zelenskyy suggested the drones may have been conducting surveillance of industrial facilities in border zones and ordered the military to thoroughly review all available data and report on each confirmed incident.

The incident adds to growing tensions between Kyiv and Budapest. Hungary, under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has frequently come into disagreement with EU partners over its ties to Moscow—delaying sanctions on Russia, resisting military aid to Ukraine, and opposing efforts to reduce European energy dependence on Russia.

In a separate development this week, Hungarian Air Force Gripen fighters assigned to NATO’s air policing mission from Lithuania’s Šiauliai base were scrambled to intercept a Russian formation of five aircraft over the Baltic Sea, west of Latvia, according to NATO’s Allied Air Command. The Russian group included three MiG‑31 interceptors along with a Su‑30SM and a Su‑35 fighter, and were reportedly flying close to NATO airspace without adhering to international safety norms. The Hungarian jets returned safely after the Russian aircraft turned away.

Also this week, the REPMUS 2025 naval exercise concluded. It evaluated the role of unmanned systems, with Ukrainian naval drones participating as part of the “red team.”

This incident follows a prior airspace breach last week, in which three Russian MiG‑31s purportedly entered Estonian airspace and were intercepted by Italian F‑35s. Moscow denied involvement, but NATO and Western leaders characterized the event as a deliberate provocation.

By Vafa Guliyeva