First Lady Melania Trump returned to the public stage on Thursday, two days after voters delivered a severe rebuke to her husband in the midterm elections.
In the White House Cross Hall, the First Lady welcomed Russian and Ukrainian officials to mark the six-day truce she helped broker in the war-ravaged city of Oleshky.
The gathering represented the latest step in Melania Trump’s diplomatic effort to advance peace. Representatives of both delegations also presented her with gifts.
‘Together we can create something more enduring than a temporary ceasefire,’ she said from the podium.
‘Let us see Oleshky as a spark in a world of darkness capable of illuminating the best of humanity,’ the First Lady continued. ‘Build a powerful flame of peace, visible to the world. Ignite hope, foster cooperation and brighten the path toward lasting peace.’
Nearly 800 people were evacuated during the pause, which began on October 7 and ended on November 1 after Russian officials declined to extend it.
Even so, Kirill Dmitriev, a representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, praised the initiative and commended both the First Lady and the President.
‘President Putin also appreciates President Trump’s peace-making efforts and his team working on a peace plan to resolve [the] Ukrainian crisis,’ said Dmitriev, who was the first speaker at the event.
First Lady Melania Trump appeared in the White House Cross Hall on Thursday with members of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, urging them to build on the six-day ceasefire in Oleshky and pursue a wider peace agreement
First Lady Melania Trump (right) shakes hands with Kirill Dmitriev (left), a representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, who spoke first at the event
Dmitriev also brought the First Lady a gift: a ‘painting’ created by an 11-year-old girl who had been living in Oleshky and chose to move to Russia with her family during the ceasefire.
‘And this beautiful drawing says just three words, “I love Melania,”‘ Dmitriev said.
‘And this message from children, frankly, overshadows any diplomatic statement anybody can make,’ the Russian envoy added.
Her office announced on October 23 that Melania Trump had negotiated a localized ceasefire to provide relief to the embattled city of Oleshky.
Russian forces seized Oleshky on the first day of President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Since then, the city’s supplies have steadily diminished. The Associated Press reported that food and medical aid had been in short supply for months.
Residents have been left without electricity, heating or running water.
Hundreds of people died after the Kakhovka Dam collapsed in an explosion in June 2023, an incident the AP determined was likely caused by the Russian military.
The White House estimated that roughly 90 percent of the city was submerged by floodwaters.
The suffering of Oleshky’s residents first came to the First Lady’s attention while she was attending the United Nations General Assembly in September.
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and head of the negotiating team overseeing the mission on the Ukrainian side Dmytro Lubinets (center) poses with Ukrainian citizens evacuated from Russian-occupied Oleshky
Melania Trump had traveled to New York to host Fostering the Future Together, an initiative focused on empowering and protecting children from emerging technologies.
The First Lady, who was born in Slovenia, had previously worked to reunite Ukrainian children taken by Russian forces with their parents.
She also wrote directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to consider the impact of the war on children—a conflict that has continued for nearly five years.
President Donald Trump hand-delivered the letter when he met Putin last August in Anchorage, Alaska.
So far, Melania Trump has helped reunite 34 children with their families.