Melania Trump hosted representatives of Russia and Ukraine at the White House on November 5 for talks about a humanitarian operation in Russian-occupied Oleshky, in Ukraine’s Kherson region. According to DW, Russia was represented by Kirill Dmitriev and human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova; Ukraine by ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia.
The meeting followed a temporary, limited ceasefire that the White House said had allowed humanitarian aid to reach the city and residents to leave. Melania Trump said approximately 800 people had left Oleshky; that figure is not an independently established evacuation count.
According to the Associated Press, both delegations thanked the US first lady for mediating. Trump expressed hope that the local humanitarian arrangement could serve as a basis for further de-escalation and delivered letters to Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky through representatives of the two sides.