Trump sits down with a Russian envoy
President Donald Trump met with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev at the White House on Thursday, but he did not meet the Ukrainian officials who were in the building at the same time. Dmitriev, an envoy for Vladimir Putin, was there for an event with first lady Melania Trump.
Trump wouldn't give details about the conversation. He did hint that something big was coming, saying there would be an agreement, a large one, and that it would involve more than Ukraine and might cover all of Europe. He did not say why he skipped the Ukrainians, and the White House didn't immediately answer a request for comment.
The timing adds to the picture. Trump has long said he could end Russia's war in Ukraine quickly, and lately he has blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for refusing to make concessions. In the closing weeks of the midterm campaign, he also struck a deal with Putin to lift sanctions on Russian diesel exports.
Talks in Brussels and a plan for Abu Dhabi
While Dmitriev was in Washington, Trump's own envoys were holding talks with other Ukrainian and European officials at NATO headquarters in Brussels. One of them, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, said on social media that the discussions with Ukraine, NATO and European allies were productive.
He said the talks focused on security guarantees for Ukraine and a wider security structure for Europe. Kushner added that the U.S. is working intensively with all parties to find practical solutions that could end the war and lay the groundwork for lasting peace.
Next week, the United States will host three-way talks in Abu Dhabi with Ukraine and Russia. They would be the first trilateral peace discussions since February.
The Oleshky ceasefire behind the visit
The reason Dmitriev was at the White House was a recent truce in Oleshky, a besieged city in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. The local ceasefire lasted six days, from October 27 to November 1, and amounted to the most significant truce since Russia's full-scale invasion.
Dmitriev thanked Melania Trump for what he called her distinguished humanitarian role. He said Putin personally gave instructions for the operation and passed along his thanks. Two Ukrainians also spoke at the event: Davyd Arakhamia, who leads the parliamentary faction of Zelenskyy's party, and human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.
Arakhamia told the first lady she had done an amazing job and urged her to keep going, to find new missions and to de-escalate as much as possible. She said she hopes the Oleshky ceasefire can become more lasting and widespread, calling it a modest spark that could grow into a flame of peace.
How the first lady got involved
The White House announced on October 23, somewhat out of the blue, that the first lady had brokered the pause to help deliver humanitarian aid and let civilians leave a place she described as on the brink of disaster. About 2,000 people were still in the city when it began. They could evacuate to Ukrainian-held or Russian-held territory, or stay with restocked food and medical supplies.
Melania Trump said nearly 800 people were evacuated. She explained that she started talks with officials in both countries after hearing about the situation at an event she hosted on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in September. She and her top adviser, Marc Beckman, worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leaders on the terms.
It isn't her first effort of this kind. She has worked with both countries since last year to reunite families split by the war, and has helped nearly three dozen children return to relatives. Zelenskyy, speaking in Spain last week, said Oleshky showed that when Putin wants the fighting to stop, it stops, and that hundreds of lives were saved.
A city with almost nothing left
Oleshky once had about 24,000 residents. It sits on the Dnipro River, across from Ukrainian forces, and Russian troops took it on the first day of the full-scale invasion. Food and medicine have been scarce for months, and there is no electricity, heat or running water.
Its buildings have been shelled and burned, and in June 2023 floodwaters hit the city after the Kakhovka Dam collapsed. An Associated Press investigation found the blast was likely caused by Russian forces. Those who remain face hunger and disease as another winter approaches.
Ukraine has repeatedly asked for a local ceasefire to organize evacuations. As the occupying power, Russia is obligated under international law to make sure civilians have what they need to survive. At the event, the first lady gave envoys for Putin and Zelenskyy large white envelopes holding her personal letters to each leader.
