Melania Trump urges lasting Ukraine truce at White House talks

Washington — Melania Trump hosted Russian and Ukrainian officials at the White House on Thursday and called for a "more enduring" ceasefire in Ukraine, building on a six-day truce in the occupied town of Oleshky that she helped broker last month.

The meeting — unprecedented in bringing envoys of the two warring countries together under the first lady's auspices — followed the expiry of the Oleshky ceasefire, the longest pause in fighting since Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022. The truce, respected by both sides, allowed roads into the starvation-hit southern town to be demined and residents to leave for either Ukraine or Russia.

"Now we must use the courage we brought to Oleshky to find common ground through a shared concern for the suffering of innocent people," Ms Trump told reporters, according to The Hindu. She said she was sending the envoys home with personal letters to Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and described the Oleshky truce as a "spark in a world of darkness". BBC News reported that all sides credited her with a key, if unspecified, role in the ceasefire.

Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev said he thanked Ms Trump on Mr Putin's behalf for her humanitarian role, including work on reuniting children separated from their families by the war — among them children allegedly abducted by Russia. The meeting also brought together Russia's human rights ombudsman Yana Lantratova and her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets, who had worked side by side on the Oleshky evacuations.

Mr Zelenskyy awarded Ms Trump the Order of Princess Olga, First Class, which Mr Lubinets presented in person. The Ukrainian president also said he had held a "very detailed, hour-and-a-half-long" conversation with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The choreography matters less than the calendar. Ms Trump first revealed a secret channel to Mr Putin in October 2025, and her role has grown since — though a recent rapprochement between Mr Trump and Mr Putin has unsettled Kyiv. The next test comes within days: trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States open in Abu Dhabi next week, the first such format since February. Whether the Oleshky precedent survives contact with an actual negotiating table is the decision point to watch.