US First Lady Melania Trump has been awarded Ukraine’s highest state honor for women in recognition of her humanitarian efforts, including helping broker a ceasefire that allowed hundreds of civilians to evacuate the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Trump the Order of Princess Olha, 1st Class, for her “significant personal contribution to humanitarian support for Ukraine,” according to a presidential decree dated November 2 and published on Wednesday.
The award recognizes her humanitarian 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, allowing humanitarian assistance to reach the city and hundreds of residents to be evacuated.
Four planes carrying evacuees from the Russian-occupied city arrived in Belarus on Saturday, according to the Belarusian state news agency Belta and a senior Ukrainian official.
Oleshky, a southern Ukrainian city on the front line of the Russia-Ukraine war, is home to just 1,700 to 2,000 of its prewar population of 24,000, including approximately 50 children and predominantly elderly residents unable to leave. Around 90% of the city was flooded following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, forcing most residents to flee.
Trump has also been involved in diplomatic efforts to secure the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war, working through contacts with both Moscow and Kyiv.
Russian and Ukrainian officials have repeatedly thanked the first lady for helping arrange the ceasefire, although neither side has publicly detailed the full extent of her involvement in the negotiations.
According to the White House, Trump had “independently initiated engagement between the two warring nations and successfully secured a ceasefire”.
“This achievement marks an unprecedented diplomatic initiative by an American First Lady,” the White House added.
Melania Trump to host Russian, Ukrainian officials at White House
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 and his Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, as well as Ukrainian lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia and senior Russian official Kirill Dmitriev.
Arakhamia previously served on Ukraine’s negotiating team during peace talks with Russia. Diplomatic sources cited by Ukrainian media said he also helped maintain unofficial communications between Washington and Moscow during the recent ceasefire.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russia would be represented by Lantratova and Dmitriev, a Kremlin-linked businessman and presidential envoy who has participated in previous US-mediated negotiations.
Both Dmitriev and Arakhamia have extensive experience in high-level diplomatic talks, making their participation in a meeting organized by a US first lady particularly notable.
Ukraine seeks return of children taken to Russia
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. The commission also identified war crimes connected 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.
