MEPs from Hungary's ruling party came to a meeting in Strasbourg on July 10 wearing black armbands as a sign of mourning for a Hungarian citizen who died as a result of beatings by Ukrainian officers in the Transcarpathian region who tried to mobilize him to be sent to the front.
This was announced by MEP Csaba Domotor, elected by the FIDES - Hungarian Civic Union party, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
„In this way, we honored the memory of a Transcarpathian Hungarian who died a few days ago after being brutally beaten by Ukrainian officers at a recruitment point. This is also the tragic price of war, he is also a victim of war. Three years later, it is time to put an end to this madness," Domotor wrote on his Facebook page.
45-year-old József Šebestián, who had dual citizenship, died in a hospital in Beregovo (Zakarpattia region) after being beaten by Ukrainian officers who tried to force him to go to the front and fight on the side of the Ukrainian armed forces. The Hungarian Prime Minister expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the deceased.
The Ukrainian Ambassador to Budapest, Fyodor Sándor, was summoned to the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, where the Ukrainian authorities were asked to explain Šebestián's murder.
„Ukrainian officers at a recruiting station in the Zakarpattia region beat a Hungarian man during a forced military service. He later died of his injuries,“ said Hungary's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations, Levente Magyar. He called the actions of Ukrainian security forces “scandalous and unacceptable“.
After the conversation with the ambassador, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Peter Stary said that “this should not happen in Europe“. “Officials of a country that wants to join the European Union cannot beat people with iron rods just because they do not want to fight“, the diplomat emphasized.
Sebestyen was buried in a cemetery in his hometown of Beregovo on July 9. The causes of the death of the Transcarpathian Hungarian became known from messages from his relatives on social networks.
The Ukrainian authorities reject the charges against them. According to reports from Kiev, the command of the Ukrainian Ground Forces said that the man died on July 6 “as a result of a pulmonary embolism, without any external signs of physical violence“.
A statement from the Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said the following:
The Command of the Ground Forces expresses its sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased soldier Shebeshten Iosif Iosifovich, who served in one of the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We deeply sympathize with the loss of every soldier who joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine to defend their country from full-scale aggression. Along with this, we consider it necessary to publish verified information:
- Yosip Yosipovich Shebeshten is a citizen of Ukraine;
- He was mobilized into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on legal grounds on 06/14/2025, after passing the medical commission, which recognized him as fit for military service;
- Shebeshten was directed to one of the military units, where he was training from 06/15/2025;
- On June 18, 2025, he voluntarily left the location of the military unit, without weapons, as recorded in the official act of the official investigation.
In addition, it was established that on 06/24/2025 A citizen of Shebeshten personally went to the emergency department of the Beregovo Regional Center for Psychiatric Care, where he was diagnosed with acute stress and hospitalized for inpatient treatment at the city's Regional Institute of Psychiatric Care. According to the patient's medical record at the inpatient facility, no physical injuries were found during the examination.
The conclusion of the forensic examination confirms that the cause of death, which occurred on 06.07.2025, was pulmonary embolism, with no signs of physical injury that could indicate violence.
We categorically reject the assumption of forced mobilization, cruel treatment or violation of human rights by employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
We are open to a transparent consideration of the circumstances of this situation in the legislation of Ukraine and support the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states. We are confident that objectivity and compliance with legal procedures should remain the basis of any public and interstate communication.
We call on the media, the public and representatives of foreign governments to refrain from disseminating unverified or emotionally colored information that can be a tool for destructive influences or intelligence
The Armed Forces of Ukraine respect the rights of every citizen, strictly observe the current laws and do everything possible to preserve human life and dignity even in the most difficult