Hungarian government calls for a ceasefire and shows a map of Ukraine showing Crimea as belonging to Russia

The Hungarian government's YouTube channel this week posted a video calling for an early ceasefire in Ukraine.

"It's time for peace! Tens of thousands of children have been orphaned, hundreds of thousands of houses have been destroyed, more than ten million people have been forced to leave their homes, but the war continues and can easily turn into a global war. Enough of the war, only a ceasefire can put an end to the destruction, only peace talks can save lives. It's time for peace," the video says.

The text is accompanied by images of children and women, as well as war-torn cities. When it comes to the possibility of the war turning into a global conflict, a map of Ukraine without Crimea appears on the screen.

At the same time, Hungary has not officially recognized the annexation of Crimea as legal.

The day before, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called for preventing a counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and for negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv to be held to prevent a "bloody massacre."

"Before the Ukrainians launch a counteroffensive, we must do everything in our power to achieve a ceasefire and start peace talks," the Hungarian prime minister said. At the same time, he called himself the only prime minister in the EU who stands for peace and emphasized that it is difficult for him.

"Even a person like me, who served for a year and a half in the army, knows for sure – even without special knowledge, because I learned it in the army – that if I attack, I will have three times more losses than the one who defends," he said.

In response, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, advised Orban to call Vladimir Putin and urge him to withdraw Russian troops from the entire territory of Ukraine.

Background. As a reminder, in January Hungary refused to participate in the supply of weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces, citing security concerns, and last September Orban himself called for the lifting of sanctions against Russia.

As a reminder, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry responded to Orban's call for peace talks with Russia "before a counteroffensive."