Melania Trump to Host Russian and Ukrainian Representatives at the White House

US First Lady Melania Trump, the wife of President Donald Trump, will host a meeting at the White House on 5 November with representatives of Russia and Ukraine, according to an announcement on the White House website. The two countries have been at war for years, and the initiative is unusual in that it is led by the president's spouse rather than by diplomats.

The statement says Melania Trump will personally bring together representatives of the two warring countries. The White House describes the event as an outstanding moment in American history. It does not say who will represent Russia or Ukraine, and Moscow and Kyiv have not yet commented on the announcement.

Aleshky and the humanitarian ceasefire

Melania Trump is also expected to comment on events in Aleshky (Oleshky in Ukrainian), in Ukraine's Kherson region. In late October, during a ceasefire agreed with her mediation, hundreds of civilians who had remained there and lacked food and other essentials were evacuated. Radio Liberty reported the details.

On the social network X, the First Lady wrote that about 800 people were taken out of Aleshky. Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, however, said Russia and Ukraine had agreed not to disclose the number of evacuees, nor how many chose to go to Russia and how many returned to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Proposal to extend the practice

The ombudsmen of Ukraine and Russia, Dmytro Lubinets and Yana Lantratova, worked closely together to maintain the ceasefire. Each has separately confirmed that they asked Melania Trump to extend such humanitarian truces to other settlements and territories.