Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has awarded Melania Trump the Order of Princess Olha, 1st Class, Ukraine's highest award for women. According to the presidential decree, the honor recognizes her "significant personal contribution to humanitarian support for Ukraine."
The award follows a ceasefire in Ukraine's southern Kherson region that allowed several hundred people to be evacuated from the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky. The decree also cited her wider humanitarian work, including efforts concerning Ukrainian children affected by the war.
The White House said Melania Trump "independently initiated engagement between the two warring nations and successfully secured a ceasefire." Both Russian and Ukrainian sides thanked her for brokering the truce, but neither elaborated on the nature or extent of her involvement.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations are due to meet at the White House on Thursday at Melania Trump's invitation. The Ukrainian delegation will include human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and MP Davyd Arakhamia. The Russian delegation will include ombudsman Yana Lantratova and Kirill Dmitriev, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. The White House has not shared details of the event. Melania Trump will also deliver remarks on the Oleshky ceasefire on Thursday at 11:00 (16:00 GMT), the White House website said.
Russian, Ukrainian and American representatives are also scheduled to meet in Abu Dhabi next week, the first trilateral meeting since February, focused on postwar security agreements and de-escalation, according to US envoy Steve Witkoff.