Melania Trump hosts Russian and Ukrainian delegations at White House after Oleshky truce

A truce and a White House meeting

On Thursday, 5 November, Melania Trump received delegations from Russia and Ukraine at the White House, the first meeting of the two countries' representatives since Russia's full-scale invasion entered its fifth year. The gathering celebrated a limited humanitarian truce in Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city in Ukraine's Kherson region, which allowed hundreds of people cut off from water and electricity to leave. La Razón puts the evacuation at close to 800 civilians during a truce limited to six days, while Rzeczpospolita dates the pause from 27 October to 1 November.

Her account of the mission

Melania Trump said she had become aware of the crisis in September, and that she had directed her representative, Marc Beckman, to deal with Moscow and Kyiv on her behalf. Watson reports she first learned of the situation on the margins of the UN General Assembly. She had earlier written to Vladimir Putin in August 2025 about Ukrainian children taken to Russia, and according to the White House that channel helped reunite 34 children with their families. Her own account also says she took part in reviewing satellite images, the demining plan and the evacuation route.

“I became aware of the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Oleshky in September. Recognizing the urgency, I acted immediately.”

Ukrainian officials presented her with the Order of Princess Olga, first class, although sources differ on the details. The 20minutes report says President Volodymyr Zelensky handed it over on Wednesday, while La Razón says Ukraine's ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, presented it personally in Washington on Thursday. The timeline below traces the sequence from her letter to Putin to the meeting.

Divided reaction in Ukraine and Russia

Commentary in Ukraine was split. Roman Svitan, a geopolitical analyst quoted by the daily Gazeta, said Melania Trump had decided nothing and that Russian forces used the two-day truce to strengthen their positions on the left bank of the Dnipro. Nataliya Baliouk, editor-in-chief of the Lviv daily Vyssokiy Zamok, was harsher still in her assessment of the event. The Russian delegation included Kirill Dmitriev, the special envoy of Vladimir Putin, and Yana Lantratova, Russia's human rights commissioner.

Dmitriev gave the first lady a drawing by an 11-year-old Ukrainian girl from Oleshky, whose family reportedly decided to move to Russia, bearing the words "I love Melania". In return, Melania Trump handed both delegations a letter addressed to Putin and Zelensky. Komentari, cited in the reports, noted that both Russian delegates are subject to US sanctions.

Political backdrop

The meeting came two days after the 3 November elections, in which Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress, according to La Razón. Before the vote, Morning Consult had put Donald Trump's approval at 41% against 57% disapproval. Olivier Richomme, a professor of US political history at the University of Lyon-2, noted that Melania Trump had never held a political role in either of her husband's terms.

Approval41%

Disapproval57%

Approval

41 %

Disapproval

57 %

Data from the article text

Katherine Jellison, an emerita professor at Ohio University who specialises in the history of first ladies, suggested that Melania Trump may be presenting a more humane image in contrast to her husband's approach, which she described as essentially transactional. Talks on the war in Ukraine are due in Abu Dhabi about a week after the White House meeting, according to 20minutes.