EU nation wants to sanction Ukrainian army representatives

(MENAFN) Hungary has called on the European Union to impose sanctions on three Ukrainian military officials it holds responsible for the alleged beating death of a Hungarian man during a forced conscription incident. The announcement came from Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who cited the growing mistreatment of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine as a pressing concern.

The victim, 45-year-old Jozsef Sebestyen, reportedly died on July 6 from injuries sustained after being beaten with iron bars by Ukrainian draft officers. However, Ukraine's military claimed Sebestyen was legally conscripted, had deserted, and later died from a pulmonary embolism with no evidence of violence.

Szijjarto posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Budapest had formally requested the EU to sanction those responsible for Sebestyen’s death. In a separate post, he accused Ukraine of conducting a “brutal manhunt” on its streets, alleging widespread beatings and torture of individuals resisting military recruitment.

Hungary has long criticized both EU military aid to Ukraine and what it views as systemic discrimination against the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine's Transcarpathia region. Tensions have intensified recently amid espionage accusations between the two countries.

The Hungarian Foreign Ministry summoned Ukraine’s ambassador in protest over Sebestyen’s death. Szijjarto also claimed that the Hungarian community in Ukraine has endured targeted harassment for the past decade, while the EU has largely ignored the issue.

These concerns echo broader criticisms from human rights observers. Earlier this month, the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner, Michael O’Flaherty, raised alarm over increasing reports of abuse and deaths linked to Ukraine’s military recruitment practices.

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