The White House said on Friday that First Lady Melania Trump secured a temporary ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the Kremlin-controlled city of Oleshky, to allow humanitarian aid to enter and civilians to evacuate.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev welcomed the first lady’s announcement, saying on social media that the Russian military confirmed a ceasefire in the Kherson region.
The localized ceasefire will begin on Tuesday, Dmitriev said without specifying its duration.
Ukrainian lawmaker and member of the negotiating team Davyd Arakhamia said Kyiv and Washington discussed the situation in Oleshky on Tuesday during talks in Oslo, Norway.
“God willing, there will be progress on the humanitarian front next week. The situation in Oleshky is very difficult. We discussed it yesterday, and the informal outcome of that meeting is that there should be good news next week,” Arakhamia told RBC Ukraine without disclosing further details.
The first lady said the city’s situation is dire, describing it as “on the brink of disaster.”
Most of those still living in Oleshky are elderly and urgently need medical care, medicine, food, and clean water, she said in a statement. They have limited access to electricity and face mined roads and frequent military attacks.
“It was abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible,” she said.
Civilian leaders from both countries will visit residents at home to assess their needs, and those who want to leave will receive assistance and transportation to their preferred destination, the first lady said. She expects some to choose Russia and others Ukraine.
According to the White House, about 1,700-2,000 residents remain in Oleshky, mostly older people.
The White House said that, in addition to being devastated by its frontline location for over four years, about 90 percent of the city’s territory flooded in 2023 after the destruction of the nearby Kakhovka Dam.
The first lady has played a prominent humanitarian role during the conflict, notably trying to reunite children separated from their families.
She has secured the return of 34 children to their families since she wrote a personal letter to Putin in August 2025.
Putin has praised her humanitarian efforts, most recently in his meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg earlier this week.
“The civilian population is suffering. In this regard, please pass my most sincere gratitude not only to the President but also to First Lady [Melania Trump] for her contribution to resolving humanitarian issues,” Putin told Witkoff.
The ceasefire comes just days after Russia agreed to resume trilateral talks with the United States and Ukraine to negotiate an end to the war.
Russia on Wednesday confirmed the release of Stephen Hubbard, a retired teacher from Michigan, who had been imprisoned in Russia since 2024 after being convicted of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.
Hubbard’s release follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s Oct. 20 Oval Office remarks, in which he said he had asked the Russian president to release him.
Following Hubbard’s release, Trump said in an Oct. 21 post on Truth Social that it was secured without the United States needing to give anything in return, calling it an “unprecedented situation for Russia.”
