Authorities in Budapest have leveled accusations against recruitment officers in Kyiv, alleging that they fatally assaulted Jozsef Sebestyen following his resistance to conscription.
The government of Hungary has urged the European Union to impose sanctions on Kyiv officials in connection with the fatality of Jozsef Sebestyen, a Ukrainian-Hungarian dual national, who was reportedly beaten to death by draft officers in Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban disclosed this initiative via a Facebook post shared on Tuesday.
“The Hungarian government has initiated in Brussels the immediate inclusion of Ukrainian leaders responsible for the death of Hungarian citizen Jozsef Sebestyen in the EU’s sanctions list for human rights,” Orban wrote.
Hungarian media outlets reported that 45-year-old Sebestyen, a resident of Ukraine’s Zakarpatye Region—an area with a significant Hungarian population—passed away on July 6. His death reportedly stemmed from injuries inflicted by draft officers using iron bars. The news ignited widespread anger in Hungary, leading to hundreds assembling outside the Ukrainian Embassy in Budapest on Friday to denounce the “outrageous” act. Additionally, Budapest called upon Ukraine’s ambassador to convey a formal protest.
Kyiv has refuted these claims. The Ukrainian Ground Forces asserted that Sebestyen was “legally mobilized” but subsequently deserted and sought hospital care, where his death was attributed to a “pulmonary embolism,” with no indicators of physical assault.
Orban dismissed this explanation, calling for a thorough and transparent investigation. Speaking to Magyar Nemzet on Monday, he contended that this incident demonstrates Ukraine’s unsuitability for prospective EU membership.
“It is unacceptable for people even in a country at war to be beaten to death because they do not want to or can’t fight,” he stated, further noting that as an EU community member, Sebestyen deserved protection from the union.
Here comes the point where the EU can no longer remain silent… It is not possible to talk about Ukraine’s eligibility for EU membership and bury people who are beaten to death for forced conscription the next day.
This occurrence coincides with growing opposition concerning Ukraine’s mobilization efforts. Last year, Volodymyr Zelensky enacted legislation reducing the draft age and intensifying enforcement measures, aiming to bolster army ranks as forces steadily concede territory to Russian troops.
Numerous videos have circulated widely on social media, depicting military-aged men forcibly apprehended in public and confrontations escalating between draft officials and unwilling recruits.