The White House said Melania Trump and one of her representatives worked "directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to define the terms of the localised ceasefire" in Oleshky, a front-line city described as "on the brink of disaster" without medicine, food or clean water. The statement quoted the first lady saying that residents "have limited electricity, live amid mined roads, and endure regular military attacks" and that "without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible."
Ukraine and Russia confirmed the deal, which will allow civilian leaders from both countries to visit residents and determine assistance needs. Residents who wish to evacuate will receive support to travel to either Russia or Ukraine. The statement did not specify how long the ceasefire would last.
Ukrainian MP Davyd Arakhamia, who heads President Volodymyr Zelensky's party in parliament, said "an operation to unblock the settlement of Oleshky and its surroundings will begin in the near future" and that a ceasefire would be achieved as announced by Melania Trump. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman confirmed that "those who wish to do so will be able to leave this settlement."
Oleshky was seized by Russia in the first days of its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Trapped between Ukrainian positions across the Dnipro River and Russian forces to the east, residents have resorted to eating garden weeds to survive. Last month, some remaining residents told the BBC harrowing accounts of living under constant shelling, with children suffering malnutrition and lack of education, and only one hospital partially operational for critical amputations. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the local population was under a "full blockade" by Russian forces. The Kremlin acknowledged in September that Oleshky faced "a critical situation" but blamed Kyiv and said Russia's military was working to resolve it.
Before the invasion, Oleshky was home to 24,000 people. Ukraine now estimates about 6,000 remain, including 200 children. The city also lost thousands of homes to flooding from the Nova Khakovka Dam collapse in 2023, which Ukraine and its allies blamed on Russia, while Russia blamed Ukraine.
Melania Trump, who has taken a lower public profile than some predecessors, has become involved in humanitarian efforts related to the war. In August 2025 she wrote to Putin, urging him to protect children. Since then, 34 children have reportedly been returned from Russia to Ukraine, including five this July. US President Donald Trump has said his wife privately expressed scepticism about Putin's desire for peace, recounting that she would point out Russian attacks even after he reported progress.