First lady Melania Trump’s office said Friday that she — not President Trump or other senior officials — had secured a temporary ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine over the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oreshki for humanitarian reasons.
In an unusual statement, the first lady’s office said the two countries agreed to temporarily halt all military operations in the southern Ukrainian city “to allow humanitarian assistance to enter and prepare to evacuate civilians through designated safe passages”. A partial ceasefire will begin on Thursday, October 29.
Russia and Ukraine have yet to comment on the first lady’s statement. But Ukrainian officials say a tentative agreement has been reached in Russian-occupied territory in southern Ukraine.
The first lady’s office said she was “working directly with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to determine the terms of a partial ceasefire.”
“The situation in Oreshki is very serious,” the first lady said in a statement. “Oreshki is a frontline war city on the brink of disaster. The remaining population of Oreshki consists mainly of elderly people who are in urgent need of medical care, medicine, food and clean water. Oreshki’s residents have limited electricity, live on mined roads and are constantly exposed to military attacks. It became clear that without my intervention it would not have been possible to bring humanitarian aid into the city and evacuate the city and evacuate the elderly.”
The first lady’s office said she “initiated discussions with both countries in her official capacity as exclusive intermediary and reached agreement with both parties on the objectives, technical procedures, timing, processes and terms of the agreement.”
“Non-military, civilian leaders from both countries will work together to visit Oreshki residents in their homes and determine the level of assistance they need,” the first lady said. “Residents who wish to evacuate will receive coordinated support and transportation to their preferred destinations. I anticipate that some will want to go to Russia and some will go to Ukraine.”
The first lady added that she had secured an American media outlet’s ability to document the Russian and Ukrainian teams. Conservative media outlet Newsmax said it would continue.
White House communications director Steven Chang called the news “shocking news.”
“This is an important, positive step toward peace. History will remember her for her tireless efforts to help those in need,” Zhang said on “X.”
last week, Vatican says Pope Francis spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, “expressing deep concern about the dire humanitarian situation in the city of Oreshki”.
Melania Trump has so far worked to reunite 34 children with their families after they were forcibly removed by Russia.
Although he said he would end Russia’s war with Ukraine on his first day in office, peace remains elusive for Trump. The president has grown increasingly frustrated with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in recent days, saying Ukraine should have a new leader and dismissing concerns that Russia continues to massacre Ukrainians.
“Frankly, Russia has been very good with Ukraine,” Trump told reporters earlier this week. “They didn’t do much.”
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff After his release, American Stephen Hubbard faced backlash for calling Putin a “humanitarian”.