Zelensky criticises Orban over call with Putin on Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for discussing Ukraine in a phone call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Mr Orban, who has had closer ties with Mr Putin than other European leaders throughout Russia's 33-month-old war in Ukraine, said on X that today's call lasted an hour and that "these are the most dangerous weeks" of the war.

"No one should boost (their) personal image at the expense of unity," Mr Zelensky said on X, in comments that appeared to mock Mr Orban's self-styled attempts to launch a "peace mission" for Ukraine.

"We all hope that Orban at least won't call Assad in Moscow to listen to his hour-long lectures as well," Mr Zelensky said, referring to Russia's decision to grant overthrown Syrian President Bashar al-Assad political asylum.

Replying to Mr Zelensky on X, Mr Orban said Hungary had proposed a "Christmas ceasefire" and a prisoner exchange but that Mr Zelenskiy had "clearly rejected and ruled this out". Mr Orban did not spell out exactly when or how he had proposed such a truce, or whether the same offer was made to Mr Putin.

Ukrainian officials have consistently said that a ceasefire would play into Russia's hands, as it could freeze current front lines with Russia holding about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

The Kremlin said Mr Putin had told Mr Orban during the phone call that Kyiv's stance excluded the possibility of a peaceful settlement to the war.

The phone call came at a sensitive diplomatic moment in the war in Ukraine as US President-elect Donald Trump has called for an immediate ceasefire and a swift end to the war.

Mr Zelensky used his first meeting with Mr Trump since the election to explain his country's need for security guarantees in any negotiated end to the war with Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the meeting in Paris during which Mr Zelensky sought to build a rapport with Mr Trump, whose promise to end the conflict swiftly has raised concerns in Kyiv that it could be largely on Moscow's terms.

The three leaders, who talked for 35 minutes without advisers in the Elysee Palace, did not discuss specific details of any vision for peace, according to sources.

However, they said that Mr Trump repeated that he wanted an immediate ceasefire and negotiations to secure a quick end to the war.

The meeting offered some early clues as to how negotiations on ending the conflict might play out, although the process - that would involve Russian President Vladimir Putin - is fraught with difficulty and the role of the United States is not yet clear.

One of the incoming US president's advisers said that Mr Zelensky may be "overplaying his hand" to an extent, given the perilous position that Ukraine faces on the battlefield.

Kyiv has been pushing the outgoing US administration for an invitation to join the NATO military alliance, having long made the case that it will need security guarantees to prevent any new Russian invasion.

The latter message has been consistent even as President Zelensky recently acknowledged that a diplomatic end to the war would save lives, softening his earlier insistence that all Russian forces must be expelled from Ukraine in order for peace to be achieved.

Several officials close to Mr Trump have said he has geared his meetings to building a personal rapport, which is key to how he conducts diplomacy, and that he will ultimately make the call on how to proceed.

The generally cordial nature of his direct dealings with President Zelensky differs from some of his public pronouncements about the Ukrainian leader on the campaign trail, including calling him "the greatest salesman on Earth" for having solicited and received billions of dollars of US military aid.

President Macron and Mr Zelensky were on the same page at the Paris meeting, but were careful not to seem like they were cornering Mr Trump, one official said.

The French leader - who over the years has developed a knack for using personal relationships to advance his diplomatic efforts - and President Zelensky worked in synergy to outline how they viewed the situation, while underscoring that without US support it would be very difficult for Kyiv, the official added.

Mr Macron's pitch to Mr Trump was focused on the message that a defeat for Ukraine would reflect badly on the US and be taken by its rivals across the globe, including China, as a sign of American weakness, sources said.

"There is no scenario in which Ukraine loses and America wins," President Macron told Mr Trump. "The world is watching," he added, according to sources.

Ukraine hits Russian facilities with missiles and drones

Ukraine struck a southern Russian port on the Azov Sea with missiles and triggered a fire at an oil depot in the Bryansk region of western Russia with drones, according to officials and media reports.

The extent of the damage and the exact weapons used in the attack are unclear, though Moscow has repeatedly cautioned that Ukraine's use of US missiles to strike its sovereign territory risks triggering a wider war.

Russia's defence ministry said its air defence units destroyed 14 Ukrainian drones overnight over the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine. It did not say what was hit.

Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz said that a production facility was set alight for a short time as result of the attack. He did not say what facility was damaged.

Ukraine's military claimed it had caused a "massive fire" at an oil depot with a strike on the Bryansk region.

The Soviet-built Druzhba pipeline, which pumps oil from the fields in western Siberia and the Caspian Sea to the markets of Europe, runs through the Bryansk region, as does the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS) which runs to the Baltic Sea.

About 750km south, the Russian port of Taganrog was hit by missiles from Ukraine, damaging an industrial facility and numerous cars, the acting governor of Rostov region said.

"According to preliminary information, no one was hurt," Yuri Slyusar added.