- AFP, WASHINGTON
US first lady Melania Trump on Friday said in a surprise announcement that she had brokered a localized ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the ravaged city of Oleshky, where citizens are trapped and running out of food.
Her unusual intervention comes as her husband, US President Donald Trump, pursues a full end to Russia’s war with a sudden pivot to Moscow that has alarmed Kyiv.
“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster,” the 56-year-old Melania Trump said in a statement released by the White House. “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.”
US first lady Melania Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Monday.Photo: AP
Moscow and Kyiv said they would observe a truce from Tuesday in the city in the southern Kherson region, which has been occupied by Russia since its 2022 invasion.
Melania Trump has been pursuing a parallel diplomatic track on Ukraine since October last year, when she announced that she established a channel of communication with Putin.
The Slovenian-born former model has since helped reunify more than 30 children separated from their parents by the war, her office said.
“We welcome the efforts of the First Lady of the USA, Melania Trump, who has made a significant contribution to the ceasefire,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Russian and Ukrainian military top brass confirmed that they would observe the ceasefire from 1am Greenwich Mean Time on Tuesday — two days earlier than Melania Trump’s statement had said it would start.
Donald Trump also hailed his wife, telling reporters that the Oleshky ceasefire was “her initiative” and she wanted to “save children.”
Asked if Melania could participate in trilateral Ukraine-Russia-US peace talks that the Kremlin says would resume in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, next month, Donald Trump replied: “No, but it’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard.”
The US president’s comments reflected his mercurial approach to the Ukraine war, with the US president feuding once again with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Zelensky on Friday complained that Ukraine was still having problems using the military-grade version of the Starlink communications service, a day after Donald Trump said tech titan Elon Musk had restored access.
“Unfortunately the speed limits on Starlink and Starshield are still there,” Zelensky told the Hudson Institute think tank.
He said Kyiv was also waiting for US interceptor missiles to protect it from Russian strikes.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham separately “underlined the importance for Ukraine to have full access to Starlink” in a call with Donald Trump on Friday, Downing Street said.
However, Donald Trump told reporters he would speak to Musk if there was still an issue.
“If there is a problem, I will get it straightened out,” he said.
The US leader has pivoted back toward Moscow over the past two weeks, announcing a diesel deal that he hopes would bring down oil prices sent soaring by the Iran war and postponing sanctions on Russia.
Moscow has in exchange freed a US detainee — and apparently given Donald Trump’s wife a gift.
Melania Trump said she had worked with the Russian and Ukrainian leaderships on the Oleshky plan.
Civilian leaders from both countries would visit the devastated city to assess aid needs, she said.