Putin Ally May Be Aiding Weapons Transfer to Ukraine: Report

• A report published on Friday said leaked U.S. intelligence documents show Hungary may have allowed arms for Ukraine to pass through its air space.
• Hungary's leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has long been been a loyal ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, despite his country remaining neutral on the war in Ukraine.
• The report about Hungary's alleged approval of arms passing through its territory comes following the arrest of a suspect in connection to the documents leak.

Hungary may have allowed arms for Ukraine to pass through its territory, according to a Friday report about the recently leaked U.S. intelligence documents.

If the report is true, it would mark the first known time that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán—a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin—has allowed a weapons transfer through his country's territory to aid Ukraine's military in its war against Russia.

Despite Hungary remaining neutral on the war in Ukraine, Orbán has continued to voice sympathy for Moscow throughout Putin's military campaign against Ukraine. The Hungarian leader is also still widely considered to be the European Union's (EU) most pro-Kremlin leader due in part to his efforts to thwart the EU's sanctions against Russia as punishment for the war while also trying to undermine NATO's military support for Kyiv.

However, Politico Europe reported that the leaked classified documents contained information that indicated Hungary, which shares a border with Ukraine, "may be secretly letting allies use its airspace to move arms toward the battlefield, despite pledges to bar such transfers."

Newsweek has not been able to independently authenticate information contained in the leaked documents, and government officials from multiple countries have said some of the leaked papers may have been altered.

Politico Europe's report regarding Hungary followed the Thursday arrest of Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard's intelligence wing who has been identified by U.S. officials as the suspect in the documents leak.

The classified files detailed NATO military support for Kyiv and included evaluations of Ukraine's forces and its needs for launching a counteroffensive against Putin's forces. The investigation that led to Teixeira's arrest came after the documents were shared across various social media sites ahead of Easter weekend.

The new report regarding Hungary said one leaked document contained information about a plan for Ukrainians to pilot helicopters donated from Croatia through Hungary's air space. Politico Europe added that if Hungary is allowing arms to pass through its air space, then previous press reports were wrong that Croatian helicopters would be sent to Ukraine on the ground or through Poland's skies.

This alleged information isn't the only reference to Orbán in the leaked documents. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) assessment contained in the leaked files showed that Orbán allegedly called the United States one of the top three adversaries for his right-wing Fidesz party during a February political-strategy meeting.

Newsweek reached out to Orbán's office via email for comment.