Russia-Ukraine war: US official says Hungary call for ceasefire 'cynical'

The United States ambassador to Hungary said Budapest’s calls for a ceasefire in the ongoing war are “cynical.” The envoy cited that portions of Ukrainian territory are being occupied by Russian forces.

US ambassador to Hungary David Pressman said on Wednesday that Hungary’s repeated calls for a ceasefire in the war are “cynical” given that Russian forces occupy portions of Ukrainian territory. Pressman was referring to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s repeated calls for such a ceasefire, which critics have said amounted to Ukraine ceding territories to Moscow.

“When we hear politicians advocate for appeasement masquerading as peace, let’s be very clear: one man can make peace today. If Putin stops fighting, the war ends. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends,” said Pressman during a panel discussion in Budapest, according to a transcript of his remarks released by the US embassy.

“It is cynical to call for a ceasefire when it is not your country that is almost 20 percent occupied by a foreign invading army,” Pressman added.

The envoy’s remarks also appeared to highlight a growing rift between countries that are part of the NATO alliance. While Orban said that Hungary being part of NATO was important for the country, his government will not be providing Ukraine with military assistance or cutting economic ties with Russia.

Pressman said that Budapest’s blocking of high-level meetings of the NATO Ukraine Commission over a dispute with Kyiv about the treatment of ethnic Hungarians was “untenable.”

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have made gains on a part of the Kherson region, reclaiming a large portion of the region, including the similarly called capital Kherson during its counteroffensive last year. However, Russian forces have stationed themselves on the left bank of the Dnipro River. According to geolocated footage released by a Russian reporter, Ukrainian forces stationed themselves north of Oleshky in southwest Kherson.

Another Russian military reporter on April 20 said that Ukrainian forces were fortifying their positions near the destroyed Antonivskyi bridge. Another reporter said some Ukrainian forces also had some islands in the nearby Dnipro delta under their control.

In leaked US classified documents reported by the New York Times, 12 Ukrainian combat brigades were expected to be ready to proceed to the front lines by the end of April, nine units of which are trained and supplied by the United States and the NATO alliance.