Dmitriev gave Melania Trump a painting of a girl who was taken from Oleshky to Russia
At the White House, Vladimir Putin’s representative, Kirill Dmitriev, presented U.S. First Lady Melania Trump with a painting created by an 11-year-old girl who had been taken from the occupied town of Oleshky to Tuapse, Russia. This took place during a meeting dedicated to the humanitarian operation to evacuate people from the city. Ukrainian representatives—Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and “Servant of the People” faction leader Davyd Arakhamia—were also present at the event.
During the meeting at the White House, Kirill Dmitriev presented Melania Trump with a drawing by an 11-year-old girl who had been taken from the occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region to Tuapse, Russia. This is evident from photos released from the event. Prior to that, the First Lady of the United States gave Dmitriev the floor and shook his hand. The Kremlin representative thanked Melania Trump for her humanitarian role in organizing the operation in Oleshky. At the same time, he mentioned a Russian soldier who was killed while clearing a road of mines in the occupied city.
Dmitriev called the death of sapper Andriy Verednikov “the ultimate sacrifice” and expressed his condolences to his family. “We honor the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. We remember Russian sapper Andrei Verednikov, who was killed in this operation. Our thoughts are with his wife, his two children, and their families,” he said.
An aide to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin also stated that Putin allegedly personally issued all necessary instructions to ensure compliance with the ceasefire in Oleshky. At the same time, this statement came from a representative of the Russian side and does not in itself constitute independent confirmation of exactly how the ceasefire was organized.
Who Else Was at the Meeting
Photos released by the White House show that Ukrainian and Russian representatives were seated next to each other. In particular, Davyd Arakhamia, head of the “Servant of the People” parliamentary faction, was seated next to Kirill Dmitriev. And Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets sat next to Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova.
Her presence at the meeting also drew attention due to her previous public statements. Lantratova has repeatedly made anti-American remarks. In particular, she supported a law that prohibited U.S. citizens from adopting Russian children. She also accused the administration of former President Joe Biden of alleged involvement in the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue. Photos from the meeting were released by Reuters. They show representatives from Ukraine and Russia, as well as Melania Trump, during the event at the White House.
How the humanitarian operation in Oleshky unfolded
The humanitarian operation in occupied Oleshky and other settlements in the Kherson region was made possible by agreements on a temporary ceasefire. The ceasefire began at 3:00 a.m. on October 27. It was implemented to clear routes of mines, deliver aid, and evacuate civilians. At that time, approximately 1,700 people remained in Oleshky who, according to reports from the Ukrainian side, did not have sufficient access to food and medicine. Therefore, the top priority was to secure safe routes and deliver necessary aid to the city.
On October 30, the main phase of the mission began—the evacuation of residents. Twenty-five buses with a total capacity of 750 seats were prepared to transport people. Those who wished to leave the occupied territory and return to Ukrainian-controlled territory were allowed to depart. Initially, the evacuees were taken to Anapa, Russia, in the Krasnodar Krai. From there, four planes transported the people to Belarus, and they then traveled to Ukraine by bus. Residents who chose to go to Russia were evacuated separately. Some people remained in Oleshky.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported that no shelling had been recorded since the start of the ceasefire. This made it possible to clear the routes of mines and organize the transport of civilians. On October 31, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the completion of the humanitarian evacuation operation. At the same time, according to AFP, citing Ukrainian officials, Russia rejected Ukraine’s proposal to extend the ceasefire. Consequently, further arrangements regarding the safe evacuation of people remained uncertain.
What is known about the mission’s results
On November 1, Melania Trump posted on social media platform X that the humanitarian operation in Oleshky had been successfully completed. According to her, vital aid was delivered to the region, and nearly 800 people were successfully evacuated. “Vital aid was delivered to the region, and the evacuation of nearly 800 people was carried out,” wrote the First Lady of the United States.
At the same time, the exact number of evacuees has not been disclosed. Dmytro Lubinets explained that this is part of the agreements with Russia. The parties are not to publicly disclose how many people left for territory controlled by Ukraine and how many went to Russia.
Thus, the meeting at the White House served as a continuation of diplomatic efforts surrounding the humanitarian operation in Oleshky. During the event, Dmitriev thanked Melania Trump and presented her with a painting by a Ukrainian child who had been taken to Russia. At the same time, the presence of Ukrainian and Russian representatives at the same table and the parties’ statements regarding the mission’s progress do not change the main fact: some residents of the occupied city needed to be evacuated, and precise data on exactly where people went remain undisclosed. This became known during the broadcast of the meeting at the White House on Thursday, November 5.
U.S. First Lady Melania Trump wrote letters to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. She handed them to the Ukrainian and Russian delegations during the meeting at the White House on November 5. The parties discussed the humanitarian operation in the temporarily occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region, which was preceded by a local ceasefire.
A meeting between representatives of Ukraine and Russia, organized by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump, took place at the White House on November 5. The event followed a local ceasefire and a humanitarian operation in the temporarily occupied town of Oleshky in the Kherson region.
