WASHINGTON – First lady Melania Trump helped broker a temporary pause in fighting around the occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky to secure humanitarian aid and help evacuate civilians, the White House announced on Oct. 23.
Russia and Ukraine agreed to halt military operations around Oleshky beginning on Oct. 29, the White House said in a statement. The besieged town, which has been occupied by Russia since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is on the frontlines of the war and has been largely cut off from food and electricity.
"The situation in Oleshky is dire," the first lady said in a statement. "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."
Roughly 1,700 people are estimated to be living in the town, which had a pre-war population of roughly 24,000, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Many of the current residents of Oleshky are elderly people who are in desperate need of humanitarian aid, the first lady said.
The first lady has been working since last year to reunite Ukrainian children who were taken from their families and relocated to Russia.
President Donald Trump said the humanitarian pause came about as a result of the first lady's work on the initiative to return children to their families in Ukraine. "They contacted both sides, and both sides wanted to do it," he told reporters. "She's done a great job."
Trump said his wife wants to "save children and that's her focus," and that "both sides are cooperating with her," as he answered questions ahead of a trip to Florida.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the ceasefire agreement in Oleshky to allow the evacuation of civilians and said that military personnel are still coordinating the exact timing of the humanitarian operation, according to comments published by Russian state media.
Melania Trump brokered the agreement with Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, and his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova, according to Peskov.
The White House said that the first lady became aware of the humanitarian crisis in Oleshky after a private discussion at an event in New York during the U.N. General Assembly last month.
A Ukrainian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Kyiv tried to involve a number of people in the humanitarian effort as the situation in Oleshky became increasingly critical. The official expressed cautious optimism that the U.S.-led mediation effort will succeed.
For weeks, Ukrainian officials have appealed for civilian evacuations and access to humanitarian aid in Oleshky. Ukraine enlisted a number of world leaders in the effort, including Pope Leo XIV, who expressed his concern about the humanitarian crisis in Oleshky during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 16.
Andrii Sybiha, the foreign minister of Ukraine, warned in an Oct. 17 post on social media that "Russians are trying to turn the Ukrainian town of Oleshky into a death trap."
"Residents doubt they can survive this winter," he added. "Families are starving, surviving on leftover garden vegetables, preserves and even snails."
The humanitarian efforts in Oleshky will involve non-military, civilian leaders from both Russia and Ukraine who will meet with local residents. They will be accompanied by an "impartial American media organization" to document the efforts, according to the first lady.
"Residents who wish to evacuate will receive coordinated support and transportation to their preferred destination," Melania Trump said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Melania Trump announces humanitarian pause for war-torn Ukrainian city
