Melania Trump calls for lasting Ukraine truce as she hosts Russian and Ukrainian officials

What the report says

Melania Trump used a White House meeting with Russian and Ukrainian representatives to call for a more durable ceasefire in Ukraine, following a six-day truce in the Russian-occupied southern area of Kherson. According to BBC World News, the pause in fighting allowed hundreds of residents of Oleshky to leave the town, which had been under bombardment and short of food. Both Moscow and Kyiv credited the US first lady with helping to broker the arrangement, although the precise extent of her role was not publicly detailed.

The delegations included Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova, Ukrainian MP Davyd Arakhamia and Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev. Trump said the temporary halt had enabled reviews of demining plans, evacuation routes, hospital access and medical supplies. She also thanked both Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, and later handed personal letters to the Russian and Ukrainian envoys for their presidents.

The event was notable because it took place outside the formal US-led peace talks that have continued without a breakthrough since last year. BBC World News reported that the White House framed the meeting as a humanitarian gesture, with Trump presenting historic artifacts she said symbolized peace. The report also noted that fighting elsewhere in Ukraine continued despite the local ceasefire, underscoring how limited the truce remained amid the wider war.