First lady Melania Trump has secured a “localized” ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the southern Ukrainian city of Oleshky, the White House announced Friday, opening the door for humanitarian aid to reach residents and for elderly civilians to be evacuated from the war-torn city.
“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster,” the first lady said in a statement.
Oleshky sits near Kherson, just across the Dnipro River, and has been under Russian occupation since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
According to Mrs. Trump, the people still living in the city are overwhelmingly elderly and are facing a desperate situation.
“Oleshky’s remaining population is comprised primarily of elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food, and clean water,” she said.
The first lady described harsh day-to-day conditions for those who remain, saying residents are dealing with limited electricity, mined roads and regular 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.
The city’s population has been devastated by the conflict. Oleshky was once home to about 24,000 people. Today, according to the first lady’s office, roughly 1,700 to 2,000 residents remain, mostly older people “who have been unable to leave,” along with about 50 children.
Under the arrangement announced Friday, civilian leaders from both Russia and Ukraine, rather than military officials, will work side by side. Those leaders will go door to door, visiting Oleshky residents in their homes to assess how much assistance each person needs.
Residents who choose to leave the city will be given coordinated support, as well as transportation to wherever they would like to go.
“I anticipate some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine,” the first lady said.
Mrs. Trump also announced that she had lined up an independent American news organization to be on the ground as the effort unfolds, documenting the work of both the Russian and Ukrainian teams from start to finish.
“I have also secured an impartial American media organization to accompany and document Russian and Ukrainian teams on the ground throughout the process,” she said. “This will play a significant role in ensuring that the wishes of each family are faithfully respected.”
Newsmax said it had been given “exclusive access to document the effort,” Reuters reported.
The Oleshky agreement is not the first time the first lady has stepped into the humanitarian side of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Melania Trump has consistently worked to return Ukrainian children who were kidnapped by Russia during the conflict to their families.
Friday’s announcement puts the spotlight on a small city caught on the front lines of the war, where a population that has shrunk by more than 20,000 people is now made up largely of elderly residents and a few dozen children who, according to the first lady’s office, have been unable to get out on their own.
