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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for holding an hour-long call with Russian President Vladimir Putin without consulting Ukraine.

Let’s bring you up to speed: Yesterday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban held a one-hour call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, initiated at Orban’s request, to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine. The conversation reportedly focused on exploring diplomatic avenues to de-escalate the war, with Orban proposing a Christmas ceasefire and a large-scale prisoner exchange as potential steps toward peace. Orban described these weeks as the “most dangerous” of the war and framed the ceasefire proposal as part of Hungary’s broader peace mission.

What’s going on now: In response to the call, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Orban, accusing him of undermining European unity and acting for personal image rather than collective success. Zelenskyy said that any discussions about the war in Ukraine cannot occur without Ukrainian representation, calling for solidarity among Western allies to uphold shared goals and principles. He also mocked Orban’s outreach to Moscow, noting that he hoped Orban would not engage in similar discussions with ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In addition to giving Orban shit for the phone call, Zelensky dismissed the idea of a Christmas ceasefire as proposed by the Hungarian prime minister during his call with Putin. Ukrainian presidential aide Dmytro Lytvyn noted that Hungary had neither consulted nor informed Kyiv about the possible Christmas ceasefire and argued that such a ceasefire would benefit Russia by freezing the conflict along the current front lines, where Moscow occupies approximately 20% of Ukraine’s territory.

Orban responds: In response to criticism from Zelenskyy, Orban said, “At the end of the Hungarian EU Presidency, we made new efforts for peace. We proposed a Christmas ceasefire and a large-scale prisoner exchange. It’s sad that President Zelenskyy clearly rejected and ruled this out today. We did what we could!”