Ukrainian Foreign Ministry calls Hungary's ceasefire proposal immoral manipulation

Hungary's proposals on a Christmas truce are "immoral manipulations" which should be stopped. This was stated by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on December 16.

"We call on the Hungarian side to stop its immoral manipulations regarding peace and Christmas and refrain from unilateral contacts with the aggressor state, which undermine collective efforts to restore a just peace," the ministry wrote on its X page (former Twitter).

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova soon commented on the Ukrainian ministry's statement.

"By the way, do you know why the 'Christmas truce' is immoral for the Kiev regime? Because demon-possessed," reads a message in her Telegram channel.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, in turn, noted that the statements of Hungarian officials do not correspond to reality, as after that continue to strike Ukrainian population centers.

"Hungary hinders the financing of strengthening Ukraine's defense capability, hinders the strengthening of sanctions pressure on the aggressor and opposes the adoption of other critical decisions. All this is not connected with a sincere desire to restore peace," the Foreign Ministry clarified.

The Ukrainian ministry added that the country seeks peace on its territory "more than anyone else in the world".

On a settled basis: Moscow and Budapest to continue consultations on Ukraine

But during their last conversation, Putin and Orban did not discuss holding peace talks in Hungary

On December 11, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Budapest had suggested that Ukraine establish a ceasefire with Russia for Christmas and conduct a prisoner exchange, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (whose term of office expired on May 20) rejected the initiative. At the same time, Orban was refused in Kiev to talk to Zelensky, which Sijjarto called an unprecedented step.

Orban also discussed the proposal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Pope Francis at the Vatican, with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Hungarian authorities said they would continue to try to broker a truce.

Later, on December 16, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that the EU Council of Foreign Ministers did not support Hungary's proposal for a Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine. He noted that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga also spoke against it. According to Szijjártó, only his Slovak counterpart supported keeping the initiative on the agenda.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.