How Melania Trump brokered a ceasefire in a starving Ukraine town?

In a surprising diplomatic breakthrough, the White House announced Friday, October 23, that First Lady Melania Trump has helped broker a localised ceasefire in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson region, where residents have been facing starvation and worsening humanitarian conditions.

According to the White House, Russia and Ukraine have agreed to pause military action to allow humanitarian aid into the town and prepare a civilian evacuation through a designated safe passageway.

The ceasefire is set to take effect on October 29.

Melania Trump said in a statement: “The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a frontline war city on the brink of disaster. 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.”

Oleshky, situated opposite Kherson across the Dnipro River, has remained under Russian occupation from the start of the 2022 invasion. Before the outbreak of hostilities, the town used to have approximately 24,000 inhabitants; at present, only around 1,700 to 2,000 people reside there: mostly pensioners and some fifty children. Local people have suffered several months of lack of power, running water, heating, and medical supplies, with cases reported of people surviving on weeds.

The Kremlin announced the deal and thanked Melania Trump for her "substantial contribution"; it is noted that Russian and Ukrainian armed forces are arranging the timing of the evacuation. The chief of Ukraine's negotiating team, David Arakhamia, announced the deal and thanked Melania Trump as well as Pope Leo, who had intervened.

This move comes after several weeks of strained relations between Washington and Kyiv because of the restriction on Starlink services and the failure of negotiations brokered by the US.