Melania Trump to Host Ukraine and Russia Envoys at White House

First lady Melania Trump will bring Russian and Ukrainian representatives to the White House on Thursday and deliver remarks at 11 a.m. Eastern time on a localized ceasefire around Oleshky in Ukraine’s occupied Kherson region, the White House said in a Nov. 3 statement.

The White House said Mrs. Trump initiated contact between the two sides and helped secure the pause in fighting so that aid could move and civilians could leave. Her office described the operation as a success and said nearly 800 people were evacuated. The Kyiv Independent reported that neither Ukraine nor Russia has publicly confirmed how many people left or where they resettled.

Who is expected to attend

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, citing sources familiar with the plans, reported that Ukraine is expected to send David Arakhamia, the leader of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People faction in parliament, and Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman. Russia is expected to send Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and Yana Lantratova, Russia’s human rights commissioner.

A Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent that Lubinets and Lantratova are expected at the Nov. 5 event. The White House statement did not name the guests. A spokesperson for Lubinets declined to comment to the Kyiv Independent, and neither Kyiv nor Moscow has publicly named their delegations.

Lantratova was sanctioned by the United States in 2022, the Kyiv Independent reported, which means she would need a State Department waiver to enter the country.

The Oleshky pause and the next talks

The ceasefire around Russian-occupied Oleshky ran for several days from late October into early November, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Kyiv Independent, to allow humanitarian deliveries and evacuations of vulnerable civilians. Ukraine has accused Russian forces of using temporary pauses to reinforce positions, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

Separately, Russia confirmed that U.S.-mediated talks among Moscow, Kyiv and Washington are planned for Nov. 10-11 in Abu Dhabi, with Vladimir Medinsky leading the Russian side, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Those UAE meetings were already being arranged as the Kherson pause ended.

Developing: The White House has not published a guest list, and it is not yet clear whether Lantratova will receive a waiver or which officials will appear with the first lady on Thursday.

Sources: The White House, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, The Kyiv Independent.