Melania Trump hosts Russian and Ukrainian officials at White House
The First Lady urged both sides to expand a recent six-day ceasefire in Kherson, though disputes remain over who brokered the truce.
By Grace Sullivan ·
Melania Trump hosted delegations from Russia and Ukraine at the White House on Thursday.
The event marked the first time a U.S. First Lady has personally brought representatives of two warring nations to the executive mansion for diplomatic talks. Trump used the gathering to push for a permanent peace deal that goes beyond the temporary halt in fighting currently in place.
She referred to the recent humanitarian truce in Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city in Ukraine's Kherson region, as a spark in a world of darkness. Trump argued that both sides could create something more enduring than a temporary ceasefire. The six-day truce allowed aid deliveries and the evacuation of nearly 800 people from an area that held an estimated 2,000 civilians.
The meeting included high-level officials from both countries. Russia sent Kirill Dmitriev, a special envoy to President Vladimir Putin, and Yana Lantratova, the Russian human rights commissioner. Ukraine was represented by David Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People party in parliament, and Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliamentary human rights commissioner.
Trump stated that written agreements signed by both nations designated her as an exclusive intermediary. She claimed involvement in every stage of planning, including the review of de-mining plans and evacuation routes. During the event, Ukrainian representatives presented her with the Order of Princess Olga, first class, an award President Volodymyr Zelenskyy granted earlier this week.
Questions remain about the actual source of the truce. While the White House credits Trump with mediating the agreement, Pope Leo XIV also pressed both sides to allow aid and evacuations. The two accounts of who brokered the deal have diverged. This was the longest multi-day truce between the two countries since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The truce expired on Sunday with no extension. The following day, a Russian bombing of an aid distribution point in Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhia region, killed at least 40 people, according to Zelenskyy. New talks between Russia and Ukraine are scheduled for November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi.
