Melania Trump plans Washington talks after civilians leave Oleshky

US First Lady Melania Trump is due to host Russian and Ukrainian officials at the White House in Washington on Thursday, 5 November. The White House says she will speak at 11am Eastern Time.

The meeting follows a truce in Russian-occupied Oleshky that allowed civilians to leave. The Moscow Times said the six-day pause ended on Sunday, 1 November.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Kirill Dmitriev and Yana Lantratova planned to attend if travel arrangements worked out, TASS reported. Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said he would also meet the first lady in Washington, Euronews reported.

The White House did not name the officials it had invited. The Moscow Times said Lantratova was under US sanctions and would need a State Department waiver to enter.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Melania Trump the Order of Princess Olga, First Class, on Wednesday. His decree praised her aid work and support for human rights. He credited her role in securing the partial ceasefire, Euronews reported.

The accounts of how the truce was reached differ. The White House says she began contacts on her own and secured the pause.

The Moscow Times, citing Le Monde, says Russia’s GRU and Ukraine’s HUR intelligence agencies spent four months negotiating it. Unnamed sources said both sides had agreed to give the first lady credit.

Both sides observed the pause, which let teams clear mines from roads and residents leave for Ukraine or Russia, Euronews reported. Meduza dates the halt in fighting from 27 October to 1 November.

Melania Trump said nearly 800 people had been brought out, the Guardian reported. Meduza said the number who took up the offer was unknown.

Ukraine accused Russia of using the truce to strengthen its military position, the Guardian reported. The Kremlin said changing positions during a ceasefire was normal practice.

Further talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the US are planned in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November, the Moscow Times reported. Zelenskyy said they would be the first talks between all three sides since February.