White House: Melania Trump Brokers Local Ceasefire in Oleshky
The White House said on October 23 that US First Lady Melania Trump secured a truce between Russia and Ukraine in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the Kherson region, which is suffering a humanitarian disaster. European Pravda reported this, citing the White House statement and a comment by presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn.
What the truce provides
According to the statement, Russia and Ukraine agreed to temporarily halt all military action in Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered and an evacuation of civilians to be prepared through a designated safe corridor. The local ceasefire is due to take effect on October 29.
"The situation in Oleshky is catastrophic. Oleshky is a frontline city on the brink of disaster. The remaining population consists mostly of elderly people who urgently need medical care, medicine, food and clean water. It was entirely obvious that without my intervention it would have been impossible to deliver humanitarian aid to the city and to evacuate the elderly," Melania Trump said.
She said that non-military, civilian leaders of both countries will jointly visit residents in their homes and determine what level of help they need. Residents who wish to evacuate will receive coordinated support and transport to a destination of their choice. "I expect that some will want to go to Russia and some to Ukraine," the First Lady said. An impartial American media organization will accompany and record the work of the Russian and Ukrainian teams on the ground throughout the process.
How the talks came about
The Oleshky situation caught Melania Trump's attention in a private conversation at her "Building the Future Together" event in New York during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. "My representative and I immediately used the communication channel we established with Russia and Ukraine during the previous six cases of reuniting 34 children. Both countries promptly appointed teams to coordinate complex organizational issues, including demining. Since then all parties have been working around the clock," she explained.
Lytvyn, responding to the White House statement, said the Oleshky issue is being handled by Ukraine's parliamentary human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets. "On the Ukrainian side the Oleshky topic is led by Mr. Lubinets, and it is more correct for him to comment, because the topic is sensitive and everything must be exactly as agreed with Mr. Lubinets," he said.
Pressure over Oleshky
Pope Leo XIV called Vladimir Putin on October 16 to ask for a ceasefire for humanitarian aid to Oleshky, and European Parliament Vice-President Pina Picierno began a hunger strike over the city's situation. Follow our Politics section for further developments.