Orbán's Kyiv visit and a foiled plot against parliament
A look back at 2 July 2024, when Hungary's prime minister made his first wartime trip to Kyiv and officials disclosed an arrest over a Constitution Day plot.
What happened in Ukrainian politics on 2 July 2024? Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Kyiv for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion, and he brought a ceasefire proposal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected it.
The trip was the first step in what Orbán described as "peace missions". As later described, he planned to go on from Kyiv to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, then to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, and finally to the United States. The meetings were uncoordinated, and they took place amid heightened tensions and the continuing Russian invasion.
A plot reported a day earlier
The visit came a day after Ukrainian officials said they had uncovered a plan to storm parliament and seize control from the government on Constitution Day. They arrested four people implicated in the plot, as reported on 1 July 2024.
Constitution Day is a public holiday marked on 28 June each year since 1996. It commemorates the approval of Ukraine's Constitution by the Verkhovna Rada on 28 June 1996.
Two stories, one stretch of days
The two reports covered different matters. One was a diplomatic visit and a rejected ceasefire plan. The other was a security case involving four arrests. Together they marked the opening days of July 2024 in Kyiv.
