Melania Trump hosts Russian and Ukrainian officials, urges lasting truce

The US first lady has brought Russian and Ukrainian officials under one roof at the White House. Her message: make the peace last longer than a week.

On Thursday, Melania Trump called for a "more enduring" ceasefire in Ukraine as she welcomed both delegations. It came days after a six-day truce in the southern Kherson region.

What happened?

The guests were Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova, Ukrainian MP Davyd Arakhamia and Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev. The meeting took place away from the US-brokered peace talks that the two sides have held without success since last year.

"The lives of innocent people must transcend the division of war. I hope Oleshky inspires greater peace," Trump said. She added that during the truce she had reviewed demining plans, aerial images and evacuation routes.

Dmitriev gave her a framed drawing by an 11-year-old evacuee from Oleshky. At the end, she handed him and Arakhamia two letters to deliver by hand to their presidents.

Daha önce ne olmuştu?

Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town in Kherson, has since been under constant bombardment, and its residents were facing starvation. During the six-day truce, hundreds of them were able to leave. Both Moscow and Kyiv credited Trump with brokering it.

Who really made it happen?

Nobody has spelled out her exact role. A source in Kherson's local government told the BBC that work on the evacuation had been going on for almost a year, and that others stepped in once most groundwork was done.

President Zelensky said the truce proved that "when Putin wants the fighting to stop, it stops." Ukrainian analyst Dmytro Levus said Russia's position has not changed at all and that Moscow agreed under US pressure.

Arakhamia called it the "biggest de-escalation since 2022."

What's next?

Outside Kherson, the war goes on. On Monday, a Russian strike on an aid distribution centre in Zaporizhzhia killed more than 40 people, and more may still be under the rubble.

Arakhamia admitted the political track of negotiations is "complex". He said Ukrainians are asking Melania Trump to keep going and look for new ways to de-escalate.