Russia-linked disinformation campaign targets Ukraine amid tensions with Hungary
A Russia-linked disinformation campaign has circulated artificial intelligence-generated images depicting the detention of Ukrainian bank employees by Hungarian authorities, according to fact-checking outlet Vastagbor.
The Hungarian media outlet reported on March 7 that the AI-generated images appeared in an article published by Ripost, a tabloid controlled and funded by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz party.
According to Vastagbor, the post quickly drew an unusually large number of reactions on Facebook. While Ripost articles typically receive between 10 and 200 reactions, the post containing the images garnered about 48,000.
"Most of them have Romanian or Moldovan names, so the Russians are reusing fake profiles created to influence the elections in Moldova," Vastagbor said in its report.
The outlet concluded that roughly 99% of the accounts reacting to the post were bots.
The disinformation campaign comes amid heightened tensions between Ukraine and Hungary following the detention of Ukrainian bank employees transporting currency and gold through Hungarian territory.
Seven staff members of the state-owned Ukrainian bank Oschadbank were detained by Hungarian authorities on March 5 while transporting large quantities of currency and gold from Austria to Ukraine by truck.
Throughout March 6, Kyiv accused Budapest of withholding information about the detainees and preventing Ukrainian diplomats from gaining consular access. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said Hungarian authorities had not provided an explanation for the detention and that Kyiv had sent an official diplomatic note demanding their release.
Hungary's tax and customs authority disputed the claim, saying Ukrainian consular services were notified immediately and had not responded.
Oschadbank said transporting currency by road was standard practice, while Hungarian authorities raised suspicions over the large sums being moved physically rather than through bank transfers.
The detained Ukrainian nationals have since been released and crossed back into Ukrainian territory.
The detention followed weeks of growing friction between Kyiv and Budapest, one of the European Union's most Moscow-friendly governments, over disruptions to Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline.
The pipeline, which supplies Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia, has been offline since late January after a Russian strike damaged energy infrastructure in western Ukraine, according to Kyiv.
Tensions have also been fueled by domestic politics in Hungary. Analysts say Orban has intensified anti-Ukrainian rhetoric ahead of Hungary's parliamentary elections in April, as polls show his ruling Fidesz party trailing the opposition Tisza party. Observers say the government's increasingly confrontational tone toward Ukraine has become a central feature of its campaign messaging.
