US First Lady Melania Trump said in a surprise announcement Friday she had secured a localized ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the ravaged city of Oleshky, where citizens are trapped and short of food.
The localized ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky would begin on October 29, a statement issued by her office said. There was no immediate confirmation from Moscow or Kyiv.
“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster,” Melania, the wife of President Donald Trump, said in the 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.”
The announcement comes a year after the Slovenian-born former model stunned the world by revealing she had established a back channel of communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Melania Trump has since secured the “reunifications” of 34 children separated from their parents by the war, her office said. In a number of cases they had been abducted by Russia.
Her announcement also comes as President Trump has stepped up efforts to end Moscow’s war on Ukraine — largely by pivoting back towards Putin and away from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Melania Trump said she had worked with the Russian and Ukrainian leaderships on the Oleshky plan, and that civilian leaders from both countries would “work together” and visit the devastated city to assess aid needs.
– Caught in the crossfire –
“Residents who wish to evacuate will receive coordinated support and transportation to their preferred destination. I anticipate some will want to go to Russia, and some to Ukraine,” she said.
She added that she an “impartial American media organization” — which she did not identify — would “accompany and document Russian and Ukrainian teams on the ground throughout the process” to ensure residents’ wishes were respected.
Oleshky, on the southern bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region, was seized by Russian troops in 2022. The population has dropped from about 24,000 before Russia invaded to around 2,000 today.
Former residents of the city told AFP earlier this month that people there were caught in the crossfire between Russia and Ukraine and facing worsening shortages of food and medication.
The 56-year-old First Lady carefully guards her image and is an infrequent presence at the White House, preferring to stay in New York where her son Barron is studying.
But she has ramped up her public profile in recent months, launching a series of initiatives, including one to help older foster children and another to tackle online harassment.
Last week Melania Trump unveiled a women’s health program in a press conference in the White House Rose Garden alongside her husband, who lavished praise on her.
In January she released a documentary movie called “Melania” giving a manicured view of her husband’s return to power. The film was funded by a multimillion-dollar deal with Amazon.
AFP
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