Get you up to speed: Melania Trump calls for peace at meeting with Russia, Ukraine officials
US First Lady Melania Trump hosted officials from Russia and Ukraine at the White House on 5 November 2026, urging both sides to seek an enduring peace following a recent ceasefire. The six-day truce allowed for aid deliveries and the evacuation of nearly 800 people from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson region.
The six-day truce allowed the evacuation of nearly 800 people from the city of Oleshky, with an estimated 2,000 civilians remaining. New US-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine are scheduled for November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi.
Melania Trump, during her meeting with Russian and Ukrainian officials, emphasised the need for both nations to build on the recent local ceasefire and pursue a more lasting peace. New US-brokered talks between the two countries are scheduled for November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi.
What remains unclear — It is not yet specified how many of the estimated 2,000 civilians still in Oleshky may be evacuated following the truce’s expiration.
Melania Trump hosts Russian and Ukrainian officials, calls for peace at White House meeting
News|Russia-Ukraine warMelania Trump calls for peace at meeting with Russia, Ukraine officials
US first lady hosts Russian, Ukrainian officials at the White House, urges two sides to build on recent local truce.
Published On 5 Nov 20265 Nov 2026
Published On 5 Nov 20265 Nov 2026United States First Lady Melania Trump has urged Russia and Ukraine to build on a recent localised ceasefire and seek a more “enduring” peace, as she hosted officials from both countries at the White House.
Melania Trump spoke on Thursday at an event that the White House said is believed to be “the first time in American history that a First Lady has personally brought representatives of two nations at war to the White House for diplomacy”.
Those attending included Kirill Dmitriev, a special envoy of Russian President Vladimir Putin; Yana Lantratova, Russia’s human rights commissioner; David Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People party in Ukraine’s parliament; and Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s parliamentary human rights commissioner.
“Together, we can create something more enduring than a temporary ceasefire,” Mrs. Trump said, urging both sides to see the humanitarian truce in Oleshky “as a spark in a world of darkness”.
She said her role as “exclusive intermediary” was set out in written agreements signed by both countries, and that she was involved in every stage of the planning, including reviewing de-mining plans and evacuation routes.
Washington, DC, US November 5, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz” fetchpriority=”low”>US First Lady Melania Trump delivers remarks after a meeting with representatives from Russia and Ukraine at the White House in Washington, DC, the United States, November 5, 2026 [Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters]
Ukrainian representatives presented the US first lady with the Order of Princess Olga, first class, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded her earlier this week. She also gave the most senior officials present letters she had written to Putin and Zelenskyy.
The six-day truce covered the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson region and the surrounding area, and allowed aid deliveries and the evacuation of nearly 800 people.
An estimated 2,000 civilians had been left in the city. It was the longest multi-day truce between Russia and Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and the first joint relief operation in four years and eight months.
The White House said Melania Trump mediated the truce, though Pope Leo XIV also pressed both sides to allow aid and evacuations, and that the two accounts of who brokered it have diverged.
The truce expired last Sunday with no extension, a day before a Russian bombing of an aid distribution point in Komyshuvakha, in the Zaporizhia region, killed at least 40 people, according to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.
New US-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine are expected to take place in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11.