US First Lady Melania Trump has received Ukraine's highest state honor for women in recognition of her humanitarian efforts, including her part in brokering a ceasefire that allowed hundreds of civilians to leave the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky bestowed the Order of Princess Olha, 1st Class, through a presidential decree dated November 2 and published on Wednesday. The decree cited her "significant personal contribution to humanitarian support for Ukraine," and the award recognizes her work on behalf of Ukrainian civilians, particularly children displaced or forcibly transferred to Russia during the war.
The first lady played a central role in negotiating a temporary ceasefire in Oleshky, a southern Ukrainian city on the front line of the war, opening the way for humanitarian assistance and the evacuation of hundreds of residents. Four planes carrying evacuees from the occupied city arrived in Belarus on Saturday, according to the Belarusian state news agency Belta and a senior Ukrainian official.
Oleshky's prewar population of 24,000 has fallen to between 1,700 and 2,000 people, including around 50 children and mostly elderly residents unable to leave. Roughly 90 percent of the city was flooded following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, which forced most inhabitants to flee.
Officials in both Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly thanked Trump for helping arrange the ceasefire, although neither side has publicly detailed the full extent of her involvement. According to the White House, she had "independently initiated engagement between the two warring nations and successfully secured a ceasefire," describing it as "an unprecedented diplomatic initiative by an American First Lady."
Russian and Ukrainian representatives involved in the evacuation operation are scheduled to meet at the White House on Thursday at Trump's invitation, the BBC said. The delegations are expected to include Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova, Ukrainian lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia and senior Russian official Kirill Dmitriev. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russia would be represented by Lantratova and Dmitriev, a Kremlin-linked businessman and presidential envoy who has joined previous US-mediated negotiations.
Arakhamia previously served on Ukraine's negotiating team during peace talks with Russia, and diplomatic sources cited by Ukrainian media said he also helped maintain unofficial communications between Washington and Moscow during the recent ceasefire. Observers note that both Dmitriev and Arakhamia bring extensive experience in high-level diplomacy, making their participation in a meeting organized by a US first lady particularly notable.
The diplomatic efforts come amid continued international scrutiny of Russia's treatment of Ukrainian children. In March, a UN commission of inquiry determined that Russia's deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children amounted to crimes against humanity, and it identified war crimes tied to the prolonged separation of children from their families. Ukrainian authorities estimate that nearly 20,000 children have been illegally transferred to Russia or Belarus since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Separately, Washington is preparing to bring Russian and Ukrainian negotiators together for another round of peace talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11, the first US-mediated trilateral discussions since February. US envoy Steve Witkoff said Monday that the negotiations would address postwar security arrangements, measures to reduce hostilities, humanitarian issues and efforts to end the conflict.
