Russia's foreign intelligence service proposes staging assassination attempt on Orban to influence elections – WP
The Washington Post stated this in an article, according to Ukrinform.
As reported by the outlet, citing European intelligence sources, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia raised concerns last month over a sharp decline in Orban's public support ahead of Hungary's parliamentary elections in April.
Officials within the Russian intelligence agency reportedly suggested that decisive measures might be needed, referring to a strategy they called "the Gamechanger."
According to an internal SVR report reviewed by a European intelligence service and seen by The Washington Post, operatives proposed to "fundamentally alter the entire paradigm of the election campaign," specifically by "the staging of an assassination attempt on Viktor Orban."
Such an incident, the report argued, would shift the campaign focus away from rational socio-economic issues toward emotional themes like national security, stability, and protection of the political system.
No actual physical attack on Orbán has taken place. However, even the discussion of such a scenario highlights how high the stakes are for Moscow in Hungary's elections, the newspaper notes.
In addition, Russian efforts to support Orban reportedly included a Kremlin-backed social media campaign promoting the message that he is the only candidate capable of defending Hungary's sovereignty, according to European security officials speaking anonymously.
The report also suggested that Orban should portray his leadership as a guarantee of peace and a "space for stability, predictability and long-term development," while framing opposition leader Péter Magyar of the Tisza party as a "puppet" of Brussels and his party as a "party of war" supporting Ukraine.
One European security official said their service had been informed about the arrival in Hungary of three individuals acting on behalf of Russian military intelligence, confirming earlier reporting by the investigative outlet VSquare and raising further concerns about possible Russian interference.
Additional documents indicate that Russia also instructed its agents to take specific steps to discredit opposition candidates. These operations allegedly included creating AI-generated videos to smear Tisza candidate Maria Gurzo and spreading false accusations against another candidate, Ervin Nagy, such as fabricating claims that he assaulted a local woman, forging documents and photos, and distributing disinformation through national and social media.
As previously reported, Hungary's center-right Tisza party was leading Orban's ruling Fidesz party in early March ahead of the April 12 elections.
Ukrinform photos available for purchase here
