Melania Trump urges lasting Ukraine truce as she hosts Russian, Ukrainian officials

US First Lady Melania Trump has called for a “more enduring” ceasefire in Ukraine as she hosted Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the White House, the BBC reported. Hundreds of residents of the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, facing starvation and constant bombardment, evacuated during a six-day truce last week in Kherson, which Moscow and Kyiv both credited her with brokering.

“The lives of innocent people must transcend the division of war. I hope Oleshky inspires greater peace,” she said. Ukrainian MP Davyd Arakhamia called the truce the “biggest de-escalation since 2022”. Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev thanked her for “saving and touching so many lives”. She handed both men letters for their presidents.

Speaking afterwards, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the ceasefire “had proved a very simple thing: when Putin wants the fighting to stop, it stops.” Elsewhere, more than 40 people were killed on Monday alone in a Russian strike on an aid distribution centre in the region of Zaporizhzhia.