Orbán ends EU presidency with controversial ceasefire mission, to Ukraine's dismay

Hungary's Viktor Orbán will cap his country's EU Council presidency with a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey on Thursday, the latest stop in a so-called "Christmas ceasefire" deal that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed out of hand.

The visit comes after Orbán said he held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, much to the dismay of Ukrainian leaders.

The Hungarian prime minister, who has retained relatively close ties with Putin since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, said the pair spoke for an hour, and commented he thought the current fighting in Ukraine was the "most dangerous" seen in weeks.

Orbán's proposals allegedly include a "Christmas ceasefire" as well as a large-scale prisoner exchange. After the call, Orbán said Hungary plans to use all available diplomatic tools to facilitate a ceasefire and peace in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy was highly critical of Orbán's ceasefire efforts, posting on X that achieving "real peace and guaranteed security" requires involvement from the US and Europe as well as "the commitment of all partners to uphold the goals and principles of the UN Charter".

He also accused the Hungarian leader of trying to "boost his personal image" with his ceasefire proposals, and added that there should be no discussions of peace without Ukraine's involvement.

The Office of the Ukrainian President said that Hungary didn't inform Ukraine of the call, and "Ukraine did not authorise Hungary for anything", adding that Ukrainian officials were working "daily" to secure the release of Ukrainian prisoners held in Russia.

"Relevant negotiations for a significant exchange by the end of the year have been ongoing for two weeks now,” presidential