President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters on the South Lawn as he departed the White House on Friday, October 23, 2026, described how First Lady Melania Trump’s initiative produced a temporary humanitarian ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky, Ukraine.
“What she wants to do is save children, and that’s her focus. And both sides are cooperating with her,” Trump said. “Her initiative. And they contacted both sides, and both sides wanted to do it.” Asked whether the First Lady can make peace in Ukraine, he said she has been working to reunite Ukrainian children with their families and that the two sides “worked a ceasefire in a very rough place.”
The White House said Russia and Ukraine agreed to temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow humanitarian aid in and prepare a civilian evacuation, and that the arrangement grew out of the First Lady’s earlier work reuniting Ukrainian children with their families. The Kremlin confirmed the agreement. The two sides differ on the start date — the White House initially said October 29, Russian and Ukrainian statements put it at October 27 — and the ceasefire has not yet taken effect.
Video: The White House (public domain), October 23, 2026.
