The Death of a Transcarpathian Hungarian in Ukraine Meets with Silence from Brussels

Recently the Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights published a ’Memorandum on Human Rights Elements for Peace in Ukraine’. Building on the evidence gathered during the CoE’s country visit to Ukraine, the paper spelled out ‘observations and recommendations’ on human rights–related issues. The report also dedicated a chapter to the impact of martial law in Ukraine on human rights.recruitmen

’The Commissioner notes the recent statement by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, that human rights violations by Ukrainian military recruitment officials have become “systematic and widespread”. According to that statement, such violations include physical violence, such as beatings, brutal arrests, denial of access to a lawyer, incommunicado detention, mobilisation of people with disabilities and other unacceptable acts.

The Commissioner has been receiving similar reports, including allegations of torture and death during military recruitment. While Ukraine is entitled to lawfully recruit its military, the Commissioner finds these reports alarming and urges the Ukrainian authorities to effectively investigate them…All military recruitment officers should receive a firm message of “zero tolerance” of torture or other illtreatment and undergo training on human rights compliant treatment of people.’

‘Human rights violations by Ukrainian military recruitment officials have become “systematic and widespread”’

The Commissioner for Human Rights’ report also elaborated on the number of complaints received by a human rights protection office that was recently set up in Ukraine. The organization headed by Olha Kobylynska received over 6 000 complaints about military service conditions in as little as two and a half months. In the chapter’s conclusion, the Commissioner for Human Rights recommended that ’Attention should also be paid to reports of the selective use of military recruitment.’ Indeed, the European Commission’s ‘Ukraine 2024 Report’, an annual report about enlargement countries, also noted the weaponization of conscriptions, including against journalists: ‘In government-controlled territory [that is, not the Russian occupied parts of Ukraine] there have been instances of alleged harassment and intimidation of journalists, including unlawful surveillance and threats of enlistment into the armed forces.’

In addition to the Council of Europe and the European Commission, who all acknowledged serious concerns in their reports about forceful and selective military recruitment in Ukraine, the Ombudsman of Ukraine also drew attention to these issues back in March 2025. Albeit the Ukrainian Ombudsman expressed its desire to make a full study on human rights violations by Ukrainian military recruiters, it had not received enough votes from the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to do so. Without the mandate to produce a detailed report, in its press release the Ombudsman could offer only a handful of examples of violent acts committed by military recruiters. The Ombudsman argued that in Ukraine it is increasingly common that recruiters resort to violence, detain individuals by force and against their will, and isolate military aged men from their families and legal representatives. The Ombudsman also highlighted that sometimes these men are forced to sign documents without being told about their content.

The CoE’s report, detailing the violence used by military recruiters and calling on Kyiv to improve the protection of human rights in the country, was published on 8 July 2025. Less than 24 hours later, on 9 July, the Hungarian news site mandiner.hu broke the news that a Hungarian man had died shortly after being violently conscripted and beaten in Ukraine’s western Zakarpattia Oblast. Our site has covered the details of József S’ violent beating with iron bars and tragic death as well.

Ukraine vehemently denied the accusations made by the victim’s family and reported by the Hungarian media that conscription officers had any role in József S.’s death. According to a statement by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, ‘no bodily injuries were found during the examination’ of József S.—a claim in sharp contrast to the accounts shared by the victim’s family. Ukraine’s Ambassador to Hungary, who was summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was unable to provide a clear explanation of the situation; Ambassador Fegyir cited ‘limited information’ about the case. Meanwhile, Kyiv accused Budapest of serving Russian propaganda with the—at times undoubtedly emotional—concerns it raised about the allegedly violent death of a Hungarian citizen.

The death of the Transcarpathian man shortly after being forcibly conscripted and beaten shocked the Hungarian public. Recently, over 2 million voters expressed—as part of the Voks2025 campaign—their opposition to Ukraine’s fast-tracked accession to the EU. Arguably, the tragic death of a fellow Hungarian has further strengthened Hungarians’ resistance to Kyiv’s EU ambitions.

József S was not only an ethnic Hungarian but also a citizen of Hungary, and therefore an EU citizen. Despite the allegedly violent death of an EU citizen, Brussels has remained silent and continues to pursue Ukraine’s fast-tracked EU accession. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó called Brussels’ silence on the death of József S ‘shocking’.

The Hungarian leadership has urged the EU to take action against Ukraine’s conscription practices and to hold those responsible for the death of József S accountable. ‘We are also knocking on the door in Brussels and demanding that Brussels take action against the practice of forced conscription in Ukraine,’ Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said. He called for an investigation into József S’ death—with oversight not only from Ukrainian authorities—and warned the EU leadership: ‘You can't make speeches about Ukraine's suitability for European Union membership and the next day bury people who are beaten to death during forced conscription.’

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