A 42-year-old, seriously ill Hungarian father from Tiszaújlak, Transcarpathia, has been forcibly conscripted by Zelensky’s Ukrainian military recruiters. The man’s relative posted a cry for help on Facebook, saying the man has been kidnapped.
First noted by Mandiner, the post describes the father of five, including two minors, as having a medical military exemption due to a heart and lung condition. However, he was ripped off the streets by Ukrainian recruiters, an ongoing tactic used by Kyiv to force more men to the frontlines.
The family of 42-year-old Tibor Szoboszlai has not received any information about his whereabouts for a week. His relative, Erzsébet Szoboszlai, wrote that the sick Hungarian man was kidnapped against his will and asked for help finding him.
The post also revealed that the man is apparently also raising his 4-year-old grandson, meaning that the sick man was caring for three minors, yet the Ukrainian military did not spare him.
Forced conscription by Ukraine has been well covered, with viral videos of men being forcibly abducted from the open street, including many Hungarians, and even sick people who had been exempted for health reasons.
In one harrowing story, József Sebestyén, a 45-year-old ethnic Hungarian man from Transcarpathia, was allegedly beaten by Ukrainian recruiters during a forced conscription attempt and eventually died from his injuries.
The issue of forced conscription has been yet another issue of contention between Kyiv and Budapest, with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announcing last month that the Hungarian government will assist ethnic Hungarians being forced to the frontlines in Ukraine if it involves recruiters stepping foot on Hungarian territory.
Earlier this month, Hirado wrote about Albert Román, a dual Ukrainian-Hungarian citizen, who asked Orbán and Hungarian FM Péter Szijjártó in a video message to help him get home to Hungary. The man was forcibly taken to the Ukrainian front, where he was injured and then taken prisoner by the Russians – while the Ukrainian authorities did not provide him with any assistance.
Also this month, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó successfully negotiated with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the release of two ethnic Hungarian prisoners of war being held in Russia.
