Budapest blasts conscription in Ukraine, backs Hungarian suspected of smuggling draft evaders
The Hungarian government said on Feb. 8 that it is providing consular protection to its citizen detained by Ukraine over allegedly trying to help five Ukrainian draft-age men illegally cross the border.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, whose government has repeatedly lashed out against Ukraine and opposed military assistance to the war-torn country, said the "case once again clearly shows that the war must be brought to an end as soon as possible, and forced conscription must be stopped immediately."
Ukraine has restricted travel abroad for male citizens eligible for conscription during martial law, which was declared after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Seeking to avoid the draft, thousands of Ukrainian men have sought to leave the country through various illicit schemes. Hungary and Ukraine share a 136.7-kilometer (84.9-mile) border that stretches along the Tisza River valley.
Ukraine's State Border Guard Service reported on Feb. 7 that it had detained the Hungarian "guide" as he was attempting to smuggle five Ukrainian men — for a fee of $9,000-$15,000 per person — across the Hungarian border. The Ukrainians have been detained as well.
Organizers of the scheme were expected to earn a total of $55,000, the State Border Guard Service said.
Ukrainian authorities detained the Hungarian citizen for 60 days with a bail set at Hr 3.5 million ($82,000) and confiscated cash, mobile phones, and an off-road vehicle used to transport the men to the border.
"As the fourth anniversary approaches, everyone is already fed up with the war," Szijjarto said in a post on Facebook.
"Ukrainians do not want to die; yet day after day we see footage of violent conscription operations, with what often amounts to open manhunts taking place on the streets of Ukrainian cities."
Hungary's chief diplomat, who often engages in public spats with Ukrainian and other European officials on social media, said the Hungarian government is assisting its detained citizen during police proceedings.
While mobilization remains a sensitive topic in Ukraine, Russian propaganda has sought to amplify and twist the issue in order to undermine the country's war efforts and sow societal divisions.
Hungary, broadly seen as the most Kremlin-friendly country within the EU, has often echoed Russian talking points on the war.
