Hungary to declassify security report as PM claims Ukraine illegally funding opponent

Hungary’s government says it is declassifying a national security report that Prime Minister Viktor Orbán claims shows his top rival takes illegal money from Ukraine

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Hungary's government will declassify a national security report that the populist prime minister says will prove his main political challenger received illegal financing from Ukraine, a minister said Thursday.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán faces the biggest political challenge of his career in next month's elections, where he is trailing in most polls behind his center-right opponent, Péter Magyar and his Tisza party.

As the April 12 vote approaches, Orbán — who maintains cordial relations with the Kremlin — has relied increasingly on an aggressive anti-Ukraine campaign that alleges Kyiv, the European Union and Tisza are part of a conspiracy to oust his government and install one that makes decisions more favorable to Ukraine.

Orbán has repeatedly claimed that Ukraine is financing Tisza, without providing evidence for his accusations. In an interview on commercial broadcaster ATV last week, the nationalist leader said “significant” sums had been provided to Tisza by Ukraine for the development of IT applications and voter mobilization efforts.

Magyar denies the allegations.