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US First Lady Melania Trump called for a "more enduring" ceasefire in Ukraine as she welcomed Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the White House following last week's truce in the southern region of Kherson.
Hundreds of residents of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky facing starvation and constant bombardment were able to evacuate during a six-day ceasefire, which both Moscow and Kyiv credited Trump with brokering.
"The lives of innocent people must transcend the division of war. I hope Oleshky inspires greater peace," she said.
The unusual White House event saw senior Ukrainian and Russian officials meet away from the setting of official US-brokered peace talks they have been holding without success since last year.
The delegations were made up of Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova, as well as Ukrainian MP Davyd Arakhamia and Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
Melania Trump was credited by all for playing a key though unspecified role in the ceasefire, and all parties conveyed to her the gratitude of the Russian and Ukrainian presidents.
Melania Trump handed Dmitriev and Arakhamia "personal letters" for their respective presidents
The US first lady said she had "reviewed demining plans, aerial images, assessed roadways, and discussed evacuation routes, hospital access, vehicles, and medical resources" during the truce.
"Last week in Oleshky and neighbouring areas of Kherson, people experienced the simple joys of life for the first time since 2022," Trump said. "They walked down familiar streets without fear of explosions."
She thanked both Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, making no reference to the origins of the war, which began when the Russian president launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and which has caused thousands of civilian casualties and the displacement of millions.
Dmitriev, a businessman and Kremlin special envoy who has previously represented Moscow during peace talks with Ukraine, thanked Trump for "saving and touching so many lives".
"Let us continue making a humanitarian contribution together; this is within our power," Dmitriev said, before gifting Melania Trump a framed drawing by an 11-year-old Oleshky evacuee.
He also praised Trump for her work on reuniting children separated from their families by the war. These include children allegedly abducted by Russia.
Arakhamia, a Ukrainian MP who heads Zelensky's party in parliament who has also been part of the Ukrainian negotiating team, said the Oleshky ceasefire had constituted the "biggest de-escalation since 2022".
"We are creating a momentum where both sides are learning the… mechanics of how to actually keep the peace when the peace comes," he added.
He acknowledged that the "political track" of negotiations to end the conflict was "complex" but said Ukrainians were asking Melania Trump "to keep going and find new missions and de-escalate more."
At the end of the event, Trump handed Dmitriev and Arakhamia two letters to be hand-delivered to their respective presidents.
The White House later said Melania Trump had invited her guests to view two historic artifacts which she had "personally selected as powerful symbols of peace".
One was an 18th Century medicine chest which was removed from the White House when the British set it on fire in 1812. "Once adversaries, the United States and Great Britain ultimately established a strong alliance," the White House said.
The second artifact was a cup gifted in 1899 to the French ambassador in recognition of his efforts to bring the Spanish-American war to an end.
Melania Trump has generally remained discreet on foreign policy matters, and neither Moscow nor Kyiv have elaborated on the nature or extent of her involvement in coordinating the delicate ceasefire – the most enduring and widespread of the war so far.
A source who works in the local government of the Kherson region told the BBC that work on the Oleshky evacuation had been ongoing for almost a year.
Oleshky evacuees arrived in Ukraine after a journey through southern Russia and Belarus
However, the source said, "at a certain point other individuals became involved, seemingly after most of the groundwork had already been laid and subsequently began taking credit for the progress that had been made."
It was difficult to determine exactly who had played what role and at which stage of the process, the source acknowledged, adding that "those who had been directly involved in the negotiations for nearly a year were eventually prohibited from communicating publicly about the matter."
Speaking after the meeting in the White House had taken place, President Zelensky said the success of the Oleshky ceasefire "had proved a very simple thing: when Putin wants the fighting to stop, it stops."
"The same applies to our people who are held in Russian captivity. When Putin wants, they go home."
A source close to American officials shared a similar assessment, implying to the BBC that despite the outward praise, "the person who made [the ceasefire] possible, whether we like it or not, is essentially Putin."
"And this was done in order to pass the ball to [Donald] Trump… so that it would have some positive effect for his midterm elections."
There has been no change whatsoever in Russia's position, Ukrainian political analyst Dmytro Levus told the BBC.
Moscow "agreed to it because there was pressure from the American side… In doing so, the Russians confirmed Zelenskyy's words that, when necessary, it turns out Russia can quickly stop firing and even maintain that ceasefire."
As the frontline region of Kherson experienced its first six days of peace in several years, the rest of Ukraine continued to come under Russian attack.
This week, several drone and missile attacks killed and injured civilians across the country. On Monday alone, more than 40 people were killed in a single Russian strike on an aid distribution centre in the region of Zaporizhzhia. More are thought to still be buried under the rubble.
Additional reporting by Anastasiia Levchenko in Kyiv
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