Key points
- Hungary has stated that its citizen died as a result of beatings at the TCC in Zakarpattia, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces deny these statements.
Hungary says its citizen was allegedly beaten at the TCC in Zakarpattia / Photo from the page of Iosif Shebeshten
Hungary claims that its citizen died as a result of beatings at the TCC in Zakarpattia, which is why it even expelled the Ukrainian ambassador. They say that the Hungarian was beaten so badly that he later died from his injuries.
However, the Ukrainian Ground Forces denied these statements and noted their readiness to clarify all the circumstances of the incident, Channel 24 reports.
What Hungary says about the death of a man in Transcarpathia
Hungary claims that TCC soldiers allegedly grabbed the Hungarian, forced him into a car, took him to a recruitment center and beat him there with an iron bar.
“The Hungarian family members were told that everything was fine, but the captured man eventually died from his injuries,” said Levente Magyar, parliamentary secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, quoted by Telex.
Híradó.hu wrote that it was a 45-year-old man from Zakarpattia. It is claimed that he died in hospital on July 6. The incident with him allegedly happened 3 weeks before that.
According to the man's acquaintances, he had Hungarian citizenship and deregistered from his address in Ukraine, which exempted him from conscription.
Hungarian media reports several possible versions of what happened.
In particular, they say that the day after the beating, the Hungarian was taken to a training camp, where he lost consciousness. From there, he was allegedly taken to a psychiatric hospital in Beregovo, where his death was subsequently recorded.
Another version of the Hungarian media is that the man was placed in the said institution at his own request, because he allegedly claimed to be “mentally incompetent.” And he died of thrombosis, which was the result of a hematoma he received during the beating.
“Our sincere condolences to the family of the Hungarian who died as a result of forced mobilization in Ukraine. We are with you in these difficult times,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban even wrote about this situation.
What the Army is saying about the man's death
The Ground Forces commented on the death of this 45-year-old man. It is noted that his name is Shebeshten Iosif Iosifovich.
They say that he served in one of the units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“We deeply sympathize with the loss of each soldier who joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to protect their country from full-scale aggression. At the same time, we consider it necessary to publish verified information that has already been established,” the statement says.
The Ground Forces note that the deceased is a citizen of Ukraine.
He was legally mobilized on June 14, 2025. The medical commission found him fit for service.
The next day, Shebeshtenya was sent to one of the military units for training, and on June 18, he left without permission.
“Without weapons, which is recorded in the official report of the official investigation,” the Armed Forces of Ukraine added.
Already on June 24, it became known that Iosif Shebeshten personally went to the hospital in Beregovo, where he was diagnosed with an acute stress reaction and hospitalized in the regional institution for psychiatric care. The man did not have any physical injuries.
The conclusion of the forensic medical examination confirms that the cause of death, which occurred on July 6, 2025, was pulmonary embolism, without signs of bodily injuries that could indicate violence. We categorically reject the assumptions of forced mobilization, cruel treatment or violation of human rights by the TCC and SP or other officials of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, – stated the Ground Forces.
They added that they are open to a transparent study of the circumstances of this situation within the framework of Ukrainian legislation, and noted that they support the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign states.
