Putin special envoy speaks at White House on ceasefire brokered by Melania Trump

An envoy to Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Thursday at a White House event celebrating a temporary ceasefire in Oleshky in southern Ukraine brokered by Melania Trump.

Speaking at the invitation of the first lady, Kirill Dmitriev thanked her for her “distinguished humanitarian role” in securing the ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

He added that Mr Putin personally gave instructions as part of the operation and sent his thanks to Melania Trump.

The event included officials from Russia and Ukraine to honour the ceasefire, which was signed on October 23.

The head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party and Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Davyd Arakhamiia, also spoke at the event.

Ms Trump said that she hoped the suspension of hostilities in the ravaged, Russian-occupied Ukrainian village of Oleshky can lead to something more enduring than the six day ceasefire.

“What matters is not the modesty of this beginning but the determination to turn into something extraordinary,” she said.

The White House announced that the first lady had brokered a ceasefire in the ravaged, Russian-occupied Ukrainian village of Oleshky so that humanitarian aid can be delivered and civilians can be evacuated from a place she said was “on the brink of disaster.”

The announcement came after Ukrainian, Russian and US negotiators had reached an agreement to deliver relief to Oleshky in the war-divided region of Kherson in southern Ukraine.

The local ceasefire was in effect from October 27 to November 1 and amounted to the most significant truce since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine 4½ years ago.

An estimated 2,000 people remained in Oleshky when the temporary truce took hold on October 27.

They were offered the choice of evacuating to territory controlled by Ukraine or Russia, or remaining in the city with replenished food and medical supplies.

During the pause in hostilities, residents of Oleshky crossed into Ukrainian-held territory in a major evacuation operation. Evacuees wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags stepped off buses at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border and reunited with family members.

Ukrainian authorities have not said how many residents were evacuated from Oleshky and have restricted details of their route to protect those who remained and safeguard future humanitarian missions.

Melania Trump said on social media that the humanitarian convoy could safely evacuate more than 750 people.