First Lady Melania Trump stepped into the spotlight on Thursday, just two days after voters delivered a crushing rebuke to her husband in the midterm elections.
The First Lady hosted Russian and Ukrainian officials in the White House‘s Cross Hall to celebrate the six-day truce she brokered in the war-ravaged city of Oleshky.
The event marked the next step in a push for peace at the hands of the First Lady. And she was presented with gifts from members of both delegations.
‘Together we can create something more enduring than a temporary ceasefire,’ she said from the podium.
‘Let us see Oleshky as a spark in a world of darkness capable of illuminating the best of humanity,’ the First Lady continued. ‘Build a powerful flame of peace, visible to the world. Ignite hope, foster cooperation and brighten the path toward lasting peace.’
Nearly 800 people were evacuated during the six-day pause, which started on October 7 and concluded on November 1, after the Russians declined an extension.
Still, Kirill Dmitriev, the representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, applauded the effort, praising the First Lady and the President.
‘President Putin also appreciates President Trump’s peace-making efforts and his team working on a peace plan to resolve [the] Ukrainian crisis,’ said Dmitriev, who was given the opportunity to speak first at the event.
First Lady Melania Trump appeared in the White House Cross Hall Thursday with members of both the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, calling for the six-day ceasefire in Oleshky to help create a broader peace
First Lady Melania Trump (right) shakes hands with Kirill Dmitriev (left), a representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, who was given the opportunity to speak first at the event
Dmitriev then had a gift for the First Lady, a ‘painting’ from an 11-year-old girl who had been living in Oleshky and amid the ceasefire decided to live in Russia with family.
‘And this beautiful drawing says just three words, “I love Melania,”‘ Dmitriev said.
‘And this message from children, frankly, overshadows any diplomatic statement anybody can make,’ the Russian envoy added.
David Arakhamia represented Ukraine and said while he had a speech prepared, he would speak with his ‘heart.’
‘You did an amazing job,’ he told Trump.
‘I think when everything started with your team, we had about 5 percent of people who believed in success and 95 percent skeptics who say it is not going to work,’ Arakhamia continued. ‘Now after it happened, it switched completely.’
He said it was an important step because ‘both sides are leaning this little mechanics, how to actually keep the peace when the peace comes.’
Arakhamia came armed with an award for the First Lady – the Order of Princess Olga, 1st Class, which was given to her by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
First Lady Melania Trump walks from the Blue Room into the White House’s Cross Hall for an event that brought representatives from Russia and Ukraine together
Kirill Dmitriev, a representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, brought First Lady Melania Trump a ‘painting’ from an 11-year-old girl who had resided in Oleshky but decided to move to Russia amid the ceasefire
Davyd Arakhamia (left), head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party, speaks alongside First Lady Melania Trump (right) Thursday at the White House
Arakhamia presented First Lady Melania Trump with Order of Princess Olga, 1st Class, which was given to her by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
First Lady Melania Trump handed large letters to Russia’s Kirill Dmitriev and Ukraine’s Davyd Arakhamia to be given to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, respectively, at the conclusion of Thursday’s event
In return, the First Lady handed large envelopes to Dmitriev and Arakhamia – letters to Putin and Zelensky, respectively, pushing for a greater peace deal.
She had previously written Putin and had her husband, President Donald Trump, hand-deliver the letter to the Russian leader when the two met in Anchorage last year.
The First Lady had been working to reunify Ukrainian children who were taken by the Russians with their parents.
So far, she’s been responsible for reuniting 34 children with their families.
The localized ceasefire announcement came on October 23 after Melania had heard about the plight of Oleshky while traveling in September to the United Nations General Assembly.
The First Lady had traveled to New York to host a Fostering the Future Together event, her initiative that aims to empower and safeguard children from emerging technology.
Oleshky was captured by Russian forces on the first day of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Since then, the city’s resources dwindled, with the Associated Press reporting that food and medical supplies had been scarce for months. Residents lack electricity, heat and running water.
Hundreds were killed when the Kakhovka Dam collapsed from an explosion in June 2023, which the AP determined was likely caused by the Russian military.
The White House estimated that about 90 percent of the city was flooded.
During Dmitriev’s comment Thursday, he said that aid to the city would keep on flowing, despite the ceasefire’s end.
