Benjamin Asher: Young Hungarian Volunteer who Joined Ukraine’s Defense

On May 24th, 2025, Hungarian volunteer Benjamin Asher, who fought in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was killed in the Kharkiv region.

He died while performing a combat mission, defending Ukrainian land from Russian invaders.

Militarnyi’s journalists spoke with his father and comrades, who shared the story of the young soldier’s life and their memories of him.

Benjamin was born in 2004 in Hungary. Despite his young age, he was remembered by his comrades as a person who was extremely dedicated to military service and his duty.

Before arriving in Ukraine, he was an ordinary soldier in the Hungarian Armed Forces. There, he was assigned to the position of clerk, but this role did not match his aspirations.

In 2023, he took a decisive step — he left the Hungarian army and informed the command of his intention to go to war in Ukraine.

After arriving in Ukraine, Asher was assigned to a unit that did not meet his expectations. He later joined the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, eager to fight alongside experienced soldiers on the front lines.

That is how he ended up in the 2nd Mechanized Battalion.

During basic training, his comrades gave him the callsign ‘Nemo’ because of his silence and restraint.

“He was a very interesting person, had a deep knowledge of military affairs, and loved cats. He sometimes joked, but usually behaved very quietly and was very focused,” his comrades recall.

He quickly mastered new skills, distinguished himself with his endurance and hard work, never shied away from physical exertion, and hardly ever complained.

At first, some fighters considered him strange because of his silence.

But when they saw how hard he worked, their attitude changed to respect.

Combat missions

In the battalion, he served as a rifleman and was mainly involved in defensive tasks.

“He dug, held positions, and fought like a real infantryman,” said soldiers from the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.

For some time, Asher served as a combat medic.

He moved between positions, provided assistance to the wounded, and later transferred to the logistics unit.

“During basic training, he really enjoyed studying to be a medic. He took it very seriously and performed his tasks well,” his comrades added.

In logistics, he was involved in preparing supplies that were used to equip ground combat drones and sent to soldiers on the front lines.

In the second half of May, Benjamin volunteered to go to a combat position in the Kharkiv region. It was there, on May 24th, that his life was cut short.

“All I know is that he was helping another foreigner, then enemy drones tracked him back and attacked. He ignored orders to retreat because he wanted to stay and continue fighting at his position,” said one of his comrades.

Benjamin dreamed of serving in the infantry and consciously took risks to achieve this goal.

Personal calling

“Benjamin’s actions and decisions clearly showed that he was on the side of the Ukrainian people. Due to the well-known legal consequences, he would obviously never have returned to Hungary. Therefore, I express my wish that my son be buried in Kyiv,” said his father, Asher Nathan.

Asher Sr. added that “Benjamin’s heart and soul were connected to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.”

He himself wanted to go to the front and was looking for a place where he could truly fight for Ukraine. He did not agree to join a unit where he would spend his time in calmer conditions.

“I am convinced that he sincerely wanted to defend the Ukrainian people and Ukraine’s freedom. That is why he consciously chose a unit where he could do this to the greatest extent possible,” says his father.

Knowing his son’s strong sense of justice, his father noted that Benjamin acted on an inner calling:

“He was offered other units — I heard that he even visited some of them. But it was unacceptable for him if the unit was, so to speak, ‘quiet’. He didn’t want to just sit and wait. He wanted to be where he was really needed — on the front line, at the very center of the war.”

At the age of 10, he was already studying the history of world wars and reading Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and other military texts.

“I also know several soldiers of Hungarian origin. Two of them met with Benjamin and even tried to transfer him to a quieter unit, but he refused,” says his father.

“An ordinary Hungarian contract soldier would have been frightened by what Benjamin did and experienced in Ukraine,” his father is convinced.

Commemoration

His father, Asher Nathan, wants his son to be buried in Kyiv. A memorial website and foundation have been created in honor of the Hungarian volunteer.

Initially, the plan was to bury Benjamin in the Lisovy Cemetery, but now there is an opportunity to reburial him in the National Memorial Military Cemetery in Kyiv. If this succeeds, it will be a much more fitting place to honor his memory.

“I am determined to have him posthumously granted Ukrainian citizenship. This will not only show that Ukraine stands behind him — after all, he stood behind Ukraine until his last days — but will also send a worthy signal to the country of his birth,” his father emphasizes.

Hungary rejected him, and if he had been alive, it would probably have punished him for choosing to fight for Ukraine and defend its people.

“They even opened criminal proceedings against him when they found out about his decision to fight, effectively threatening him with imprisonment,” says his father.

He also contacted a researcher at the National Museum of Military History of Ukraine in Kyiv. Based on Benjamin’s personal belongings and biography, his story will be included in an exhibition dedicated to honoring the memory of fallen foreign volunteers.

“Morally, he did a tremendous thing. Legally, he did it without any compensation or guarantees. And considering that he achieved this while living with a disability (he suffered from high-functioning autism), it’s really impressive,” says his father.

Along with the loss of Benjamin, his father found two new members of the family—Ukraine and the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.

“I personally promised to continue my son’s path, so I established funds to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in his memory to the best of my ability,” said Asher Nathan, Sr.