WASHINGTON -- Russian President Vladimir Putin’s envoy appeared with first lady Melania Trump at the White House on Thursday as she brought together Russian and Ukrainian officials to mark the localized ceasefire she brokered between their nations. Speaking at the invitation of the first lady, Kirill Dmitriev thanked Trump for her “distinguished humanitarian role” in securing the ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. U.S. President Donald Trump did not appear. Dmitriev added that 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 Oct. 23. The head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s party, Davyd Arakhamia, and Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, also spoke at the event. 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 Oct. 23 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 U.S. 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 Oct. 27 to Nov. 1 and amounted to the most significant truce since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine 4 1/2 years ago. An estimated 2,000 people remained in Oleshky when the temporary truce took hold on Oct. 27, lasting for six days before ending on Nov. 1. 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. By Darlene Superville, The Associated Press
