David Arakhamia

Melania Trump met Russian and Ukrainian representatives at the White House on Thursday, days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded her the Order of Princess Olha, 1st Class. The honour, set out in a decree dated 2 Nov, recognised her role in a localised truce that let civilians leave Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town in southern Ukraine. Nearly 800 people were evacuated during the pause, and both governments credited her with organising the operation. Russia was represented by ombudsman Yana Lantratova and envoy Kirill Dmitriev, Ukraine by ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and Davyd Arakhamia.

A temporary local ceasefire in the Kherson region town of Oleshky ended at 22:59 local time on Sunday, after hundreds of residents were evacuated. Two thirds of those who left headed to Ukrainian-controlled areas, travelling by bus to Anapa and then by air via Gomel in Belarus. The truce was brokered with involvement from former U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and Pope Leo. Ukrainian officials said around 1,700 people remained in the town, while the exact number of evacuees has not been confirmed by either side.

A US-brokered local ceasefire in Oleshky, a Russian-occupied city in Ukraine's Kherson region, has held for three days with no reported breaches, officials in Kyiv and Moscow say. The truce began on 27 Oct and is scheduled to run until 1 Nov. It is meant to let humanitarian aid reach roughly 2,000 remaining residents, who have faced food, water and medicine shortages for months, and to allow those wishing to leave to evacuate. Military units have cleared landmines during the pause, and aid is expected to arrive on Friday.