First lady Melania Trump will host Russian and Ukrainian representatives at the White House this week after helping to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine’s war-torn Oleshky region. The meeting, described by the White House as “an extraordinary moment in American History,” will be the first time officials from the two warring nations will have met since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Trump independently initiated engagement between the two warring nations and successfully secured a ceasefire in Oleshky and the surrounding Kherson region,” the White House wrote.
It was the longest pause in hostilities since the invasion. According to the White House, the first lady played a key role in enabling the ceasefire, acting as a mediator between Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and his Russian counterpart, human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova. Lubinets and Lantratova are expected to be at the White House on Thursday, a Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent.
However, Lantratova was sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2022, meaning she will require a special waiver from the State Department to legally enter the country. Neither Kyiv nor Moscow has publicly commented on which representatives will attend the meeting. Newsweek has contacted the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministries and the White House for comment.
Around 50 children and around 100 pets were also thought to be evacuated from the besieged city. I hope Oleshky serves as a foundation for lasting peace between both nations.” Neither Russia nor Ukraine has officially disclosed the exact number of evacuees, with Lubinets saying that the exact figures would not be made public "under the terms of the prior agreement." “I really don't want this to turn into a competition over 'who has fled to which country in greater numbers.' That doesn't promote objectivity,” Lubinets said during a press conference on Monday. I think you can draw your own conclusions without the release of official figures.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would welcome any further ceasefires and was open to working with Melania Trump again to secure them.
"If the first lady can do it, can continue, it's very helpful," Zelensky told Fox News on Monday. "There are no similar plans at this time, nor are there any similar initiatives.” Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Oleshky had a population of around 24,000, although only around 2,000 residents are still thought to remain. The city, which has been occupied by Russia since 2022, is close to the Dnipro River and the regional capital of Kherson, which has since been liberated by Ukraine.
The city’s remaining population, many of whom are elderly, have been trapped without access to food, water, electricity and medicine for months, according to reports from international aid groups. A BBC report said that some residents had been forced to cook garden weeds to survive. Those evacuated were forced to make a convoluted journey back into Ukrainian territory, which involved being transported from Oleshky to the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula in the South.
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