US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump during a signing ceremony of an executive order on women's health in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 19, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
First lady Melania Trump claimed she secured a “ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine, but it covers only one occupied town, and neither country immediately confirmed it.
The White House made the claim in a statement Friday, saying the first lady “successfully secured a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, localized to the city of Oleshky.” Melania Trump shared the statement on X.
The statement said the ceasefire would begin Oct. 29, allowing humanitarian aid into Oleshky and preparing to evacuate civilians through a safe passageway.
About 2,000 residents remain trapped in the Russian-occupied town in Ukraine’s Kherson region without enough food or medicine, the Kyiv Independent reported.
“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,” Melania Trump said in the statement.
The statement described her role as “Exclusive Intermediary” and said she and an unnamed representative worked directly with “Russian and Ukrainian leadership” to set the terms.
Pope Leo XIV had been pushing for a truce in Oleshky, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 16 and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Oct. 19 to seek a humanitarian ceasefire there, the Kyiv Independent reported.
After the Oct. 16 call, the Kremlin said Putin “supported the Vatican’s intention” to help protect the town’s residents and organize supplies, America Magazine reported.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said Russia had considered all of Kyiv’s earlier evacuation proposals.
“We are now moving towards agreeing the final details on ensuring a ceasefire and evacuating everyone who wishes to leave, not just from Oleshky elsewhere, but directly to territory controlled by the Ukrainian government,” Lubinets said.
“There are still some difficult issues, so to speak, but I hope that in the near future we will all see results from these negotiations,” he added.
During a meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg this week, Putin asked him to thank the first lady for leading mediation on Oleshky, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, according to the Russian state news agency TASS, the Daily Beast reported.
The Daily Beast said it remains unclear what role the first lady has played in addressing the Oleshky crisis.
Her husband, President Donald Trump, repeatedly said as a candidate that he would end the war within 24 hours, and in a September 2024 debate he said he would settle it before he even took office.
“Well, I was being a little bit sarcastic when I said that,” Donald Trump said in a March 2025 TV interview, 54 days into his second term, according to the AP.
On Oct. 11, Donald Trump posted that the two countries had agreed to an energy ceasefire, but Zelenskyy said the next day that Russia was still striking Ukraine’s energy facilities.
“In the Kremlin, both President Putin and officials at other levels have repeatedly stated we do not want a ceasefire,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that week.
Putin agreed Wednesday to resume three-way talks with the United States and Ukraine after Nov. 10, at Witkoff’s request, CNN noted.
Hours later, Russia launched a massive missile attack on Kyiv, CNN reported.
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