Melania Trump Receives Ukraine's Top Women's Award for Oleshky Ceasefire
President Zelensky granted the Order of Princess Olha to the first lady following her role in evacuating civilians from the occupied city.
By Talia Bennett ·
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded US First Lady Melania Trump the Order of Princess Olha, 1st Class, through a decree signed on November 2. The order is Ukraine's highest state honor for women. The decree was published on Wednesday and cites her personal contribution to humanitarian support for Ukraine, specifically her work for displaced children.
Trump played a central role in negotiating a temporary ceasefire in Oleshky, a southern Ukrainian city currently under Russian control. This arrangement allowed for the evacuation of hundreds of residents. According to Belarusian state news agency Belta and a senior Ukrainian official, four planes carrying evacuees arrived in Belarus on Saturday. Both Moscow and Kyiv have thanked Trump for arranging the ceasefire, though neither side has detailed the full extent of her involvement.
The White House stated that Trump independently initiated engagement between the two warring nations. It described her action as an unprecedented diplomatic initiative by an American First Lady. The award recognizes her efforts on behalf of civilians, particularly children who have been forcibly transferred to Russia during the war.
Oleshky's prewar population stood at 24,000. That number has dropped to between 1,700 and 2,000 people. The remaining residents are mostly elderly and include around 50 children. Approximately 90 percent of the city flooded after the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, which forced most inhabitants to flee.
Russian and Ukrainian representatives are scheduled to meet at the White House on Thursday at Trump's invitation. The delegations will include Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova. Ukrainian lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia and senior Russian official Kirill Dmitriev will also attend. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Russia would be represented by Lantratova and Dmitriev.
Diplomatic sources cited by Ukrainian media said Arakhamia helped maintain unofficial communications between Washington and Moscow during the recent ceasefire. He previously served on Ukraine's negotiating team during peace talks. Dmitriev is a Kremlin-linked businessman and presidential envoy who has joined previous US-mediated negotiations. The meeting comes as a UN commission of inquiry determined that Russia's deportation of Ukrainian children amounted to crimes against humanity in March.
Ukrainian authorities estimate that nearly 20,000 children have been illegally transferred to Russia or Belarus since February 2022. Separately, Washington is preparing to bring Russian and Ukrainian negotiators together in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. US envoy Steve Witkoff said the talks would address postwar security arrangements and humanitarian issues.
