Ukraine's Zelensky awards Melania Trump a state honour after she helped broker a truce to evacuate nearly 800 civilians from Oleshky
Donald Trump and Melania Trump, whose office described her as "exclusive intermediary" between Moscow and Kyiv, with Melania set to host Russian and Ukrainian representatives at the White House on Thursday.Evacuees from Oleshky, in Ukraine's Kherson region, where nearly 800 civilians were rescued during the six-day truce before Russia bombed an aid distribution centre and a neighbouring shelter, killing 26 people, the day after it ended.
Zelensky awarded Melania Trump the Order of Princess Olga, 1st Class — Ukraine's highest honour for women — citing her "significant personal contribution" to humanitarian support, including work to recover Ukrainian children forcibly moved to Russian-occupied territory. The White House called her ceasefire brokering "an unprecedented diplomatic initiative by an American First Lady." Russian and Ukrainian delegations are now due to meet at the White House on Thursday at Melania Trump's invitation.
At six days, the Oleshky ceasefire outlasted any other local halt to hostilities since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, allowing nearly 800 civilians to be evacuated.
Ukraine's military accused Russia of using the humanitarian truce to rotate troops, fortify positions and deliver ammunition — in breach of the spirit of the agreement.
Wider peace talks are set for Abu Dhabi on November 10–11, mediated by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, with US negotiators also meeting European and NATO allies in Brussels this week to discuss post-war security guarantees.
