Zelenskyy's adviser calls Orban's statements about Christmas ceasefire PR stunt for headlines, Orban insists on its relevance
Statements by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban about the alleged Christmas truce are "PR for headlines" and have also only helped Russia, in particular, for a new attack on the Ukrainian energy sector, Ukrainian Presidential Adviser on Communications Dmytro Lytvyn said.
"Now we see that this PR by Mr. Orban was simply used by Moscow to cover up the preparation of another missile strike on our energy sector, Russian missiles even approached the borders of EU countries again. Unfortunately, with this work for loud headlines, Mr. Orban helped Moscow with the attack," Lytvyn told the BBC on Friday.
At the same time, Orban on Friday again posted a post and a video on the X social network that the possibility of a mass prisoner exchange and a Christmas ceasefire proposed by Hungary is still "on the table."
"It doesn't matter how it appeared there, it is there. You can do two things with it: accept it or reject it. One side accepted it, and the other, obviously, rejected it. But there are still a few days until Christmas, let's hope for the best!" - the Hungarian Prime Minister asserts.
At the same time, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhy pointed out on Friday that agreements with Russia on a ceasefire are hopeless.
"There had been 20 ceasefire agreements between 2014 and 2022. All of them broken by the Russian side soon after announcement. The entire multi-year ceasefire exercise ended on February 24th, 2022, when Russia launched its illegal all-out invasion of Ukraine," he said on the X social network.
As reported, Hungarian Prime Minister Orban on December 11 reported an hour-long phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was sharply criticized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after which the Hungarian Prime Minister reported that the Ukrainian side allegedly rejected the Christmas ceasefire and prisoner exchange he proposed to the two sides.
On the same day, Lytvin said the Hungarian side had not discussed anything with Ukraine and had not warned about its contacts with Moscow.
