Melania Trump to bring Russian and Ukrainian representatives together at White House

US First Lady Melania Trump is scheduled to receive Russian and Ukrainian officials at the White House on Thursday, November 5, before talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Representatives expected to attend include human rights officials from both countries, which remain at war as Russia's full-scale invasion continues through its fifth year.

Russia's delegation is expected to include Kirill Dmitriev, Moscow's adviser for international economic cooperation, and human rights ombudsman Yana Lantratova. The state-owned TASS news agency reported their plans on Wednesday, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said attendance depended on logistical arrangements. Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets separately confirmed that he was traveling to Washington to meet the first lady.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Lubinets invited people to suggest a message they would like him to convey to Melania Trump. Her office had previously announced that she would personally convene representatives of the two warring countries at the White House. She was expected to speak there at 11 a.m., or 1600 GMT, on Thursday.

The gathering comes ahead of next week's Abu Dhabi meeting, which will be the first talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the United States together since February. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had held detailed discussions lasting an hour and a half with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner before those negotiations. The diplomatic activity has renewed hopes for peace, while closer relations between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have prompted concern that Washington could abandon Kyiv.

On Wednesday, Zelensky awarded Melania Trump the Order of Princess Olga, First Class, recognizing her humanitarian support for Ukraine, human rights work and charitable activity. The honor followed her involvement in arranging a partial ceasefire that made it possible to evacuate civilians from Oleshky, a Russian-occupied Ukrainian town on the southern front.

Melania Trump announced the localized truce last month after residents had endured weeks of food and medicine shortages. Both Ukrainian and Russian forces observed the pause, allowing roads to be cleared of mines and civilians to leave for either Ukraine or Russia. Her office said she had independently initiated efforts to secure the ceasefire in Oleshky and the surrounding Kherson region.

The first lady's humanitarian involvement has also included efforts to bring back Ukrainian children taken to Russia. Her office presented the Oleshky agreement in a Tuesday statement as an unprecedented diplomatic initiative for an American first lady.