First lady Melania Trump announced on Friday that she had secured a localized “temporary” ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the Ukrainian city of Oleshky, which will begin Oct. 29.
A statement from the first lady’s office said that the temporary ceasefire in the Russian-occupied city was agreed to by both countries to “allow for humanitarian aid to enter and to prepare a civilian evacuation through a designated safe passageway.”
“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster. Oleshky’s remaining population is comprised primarily of elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food, and clean water,” the first lady said in a statement, adding that without her intervention, “the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible.”
Asked about the ceasefire and whether his wife would be part of trilateral peace talks, President Donald Trump said “it’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard.”
“What she wants to do is save children, and that’s her focus. And both sides are cooperating with her, so she’s doing a very good job,” Trump said Friday morning as he departed the White House.
It’s unclear exactly how long the ceasefire is set to last in the town where about 1,700-2,000 residents remain of an estimated 24,000 before the war, according to the first lady’s office.
The Russian military is currently coordinating the timing of a ceasefire in the Oleshky area, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday. Peskov also confirmed that Melania Trump played a coordinating role in reaching a ceasefire agreement in Oleshky.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a social media post on Friday that it will carry out the ceasefire orders.
A temporary ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine also happened in May 2025 during the 80th anniversary commemoration of V Day, which celebrates the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in 1945.
This ceasefire comes amid the Trump administration’s larger efforts to engage peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, who have been at war since February 2022.
In recent weeks, the president waived a raft of sanctions on Moscow and again blamed Kyiv for the lack of progress in U.S.-sponsored peace talks, even suggesting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should be replaced as the nation’s leader.
Earlier this week, President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the U.S. had received “nothing” for its support of Ukraine.
Melania Trump said in a statement that residents who want to evacuate “to their preferred destination” will receive support from civilian, non-military leaders in both countries.
“I anticipate some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine,” she said.
Melania Trump added that she had also gotten assurances that an unnamed “impartial American media organization” will be able to accompany Russian and Ukrainian teams on the ground amid the ceasefire. ABC News has reached out to the White House for additional details.
The first lady’s office said that she became involved in brokering the agreement during a private discussion at her Fostering the Future event at the U.N. General Assembly last month.
Melania Trump has worked to bring awareness to the children impacted by the Russian-Ukraine war as the yearslong conflict drags on. Last year, she said she has an “open channel of communication” Russian President Vladimir Putin on the matter.
The first lady said she had written a letter to Putin stating it was time to protect the children impacted by the war, which was Trump hand-delivered to Putin. The Russian president responded, “signaling a willingness to engage with me directly and outlining details regarding the Ukrainian children residing in Russia,” Melania Trump said last year.
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