(MENAFN) Hungary has summoned Ukraine’s ambassador, Fyodor Shandor, after reports emerged that Ukrainian recruitment officers fatally beat an ethnic Hungarian man during a forced conscription attempt.

The incident reportedly occurred in Ukraine’s western Zakarpatye Region, home to a significant Hungarian minority. Hungarian Parliamentary State Secretary Levente Magyar condemned the act, calling it “outrageous and unacceptable” that someone—particularly a Hungarian—could be killed simply for refusing to fight in what he termed a “senseless war.”

Hungarian media outlet Mandiner reported that the victim, Jozsef Sebestyen, was allegedly attacked with iron rods by Ukrainian draft officers and succumbed to his injuries on July 6, nearly three weeks after the assault. Sources cited in the report claimed Sebestyen was abducted in Beregovo, taken to a recruitment office in Uzhgorod, and later assaulted near the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade base in Mukachevo.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed condolences to Sebestyen’s family, denouncing the act as a result of “forced conscription.”

Ukraine’s military, however, offered a different account. According to the Ground Forces, Sebestyen was lawfully drafted and considered fit for duty, but he later deserted and admitted himself to a hospital. The military stated that there were no visible signs of violence and attributed his death to a pulmonary embolism.

Ukraine has intensified its conscription efforts amid mounting battlefield losses to Russia. Numerous videos have surfaced on social media showing aggressive tactics used by draft officers, including the use of force to detain military-aged men in public places.

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