Both sides held fire throughout the truce, making it the largest de-escalation effort since Russia’s full-scale invasion in early 2022.
“This achievement marks an unprecedented diplomatic initiative by an American First Lady,” the White House said Tuesday of the ceasefire.
Pope Leo XIV and some officials in Europe also lobbied heavily for the ceasefire in Oleshky.
On Wednesday, Ukraine bestowed a state award on Melania Trump for “significant personal contribution to humanitarian support for Ukraine.” The Order of Princess Olga, 1st class is an honor for women who have made an outstanding contribution to the country.
Ukraine has been reeling from the worst collapse in relations with Washington since the start of the war. President Trump signed a deal to buy Russian diesel and waived new sanctions on Moscow last month, while Kyiv complained of gaps in U.S. intelligence sharing and the slowdown of Elon Musk’s Starlink service, crucial for Ukraine’s military and air defense.
Ukraine has since said both intelligence sharing and Starlink service have been restored, and that it was looking forward to resuming trilateral talks with the U.S. and Russia next week.
“This will be a team-level format, and we count on the work in this format and our other diplomatic steps opening the way to a trilateral format at the leaders’ level,” Zelenskyy said Tuesday. “It is precisely such a format — at the leaders’ level — that can resolve the key issues in order to achieve a lasting peace and guaranteed security.”
The meeting comes after Democrats captured full control of Congress in a striking repudiation of Trump’s agenda, including his handling of Ukraine’s war.
Kremlin said it “sincerely hoped” that Trump would continue his “peace-building efforts” after the midterm elections. Ukraine offered no official response to the dramatic results, but some in the country expressed cautious optimism the Democratic surge would ease pressure from Washington.
The negotiations to settle the war, led by Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, have stalled over the key question of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas industrial region, which Putin wants to seize in its entirety.
Ukraine still controls key stronghold cities in the Donbas and has refused to give up this land, arguing Putin may be eyeing not just a public relations success but a powerful launchpad for future invasion attempt.
