U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on Saturday that first lady Melania Trump’s localized ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the front-line city of Oleshky was “diplomacy at its very best,” a day after the White House announced that she had secured the truce and that the city’s plight first came to her attention during the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
“What an extraordinary achievement by First Lady Melania Trump!” Waltz wrote in a post on X. “After learning during UN high-level week last month of 2,000 civilians trapped in Oleshky, she has now secured a humanitarian ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine to deliver lifesaving aid and evacuate the innocent. Diplomacy at its very best. Thank you, FLOTUS!”
His post linked to the White House statement issued on Friday, which said “the exigent circumstances of Oleshky came to First Lady Melania Trump’s attention during a private discussion at her Fostering the Future Together event in New York City during the 81st United Nations General Assembly.” The statement did not say who raised the issue with her.
The first lady convened that event on Sept. 22, according to a White House readout of the gathering, which listed Ukraine among the nations represented. Her prepared remarks opened by thanking “Special Envoy Wallace and Ambassador Waltz.” The readout did not mention Oleshky.
Waltz’s figure of 2,000 trapped civilians is at the top of the White House’s own estimate. The statement said roughly 24,000 people lived in the city before the war and that “an estimated 1700-2000 residents remain,” mostly older people, along with about 50 children. It noted there had been no formal demographic count in Oleshky since 2022. Russian forces have occupied the city, on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River across from Kherson, since the early weeks of the invasion.
The White House said the first lady and her representative “worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership” and that she acted “in her formal role as Exclusive Intermediary.” It quoted her as saying they had used the channel set up with both countries “through the previous six reunifications of 34 children.” A Kremlin statement on Friday welcomed her efforts but said “Mrs Trump is acting in a coordinating capacity,” and it linked the work to agreements between Putin and Trump.
Waltz’s post did not mention the Vatican. Pope Leo XIV called for an Oleshky ceasefire in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 16, according to a Holy See press office statement. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said the same day: “It was the Holy Father who took the initiative to plead the case of this besieged city, where some 2,000 civilians need humanitarian routes through which they can leave,” Vatican News reported.
The Kremlin’s account of that call said: “Support was expressed for the Vatican’s intention to facilitate creating the necessary conditions to keep the town’s population safe and beginning vital supplies.” It referred to the town by its Russian name, Aleshki, and said the pope “was provided with a comprehensive explanation as to the Kiev regime’s responsibility” for the situation there. Speaking to reporters in Florida on Saturday, the first lady said: “It is great to have, uh, pope’s, um, uh, support.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the first lady’s announcement in a statement issued by his spokesman, commended all who contributed, and said he hoped similar arrangements could be extended to other areas where civilians are suffering.
The truce has not yet begun. Ukraine’s General Staff and Russia’s chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov, have said it starts on Oct. 27, while the White House statement still gave Oct. 29 as of Sunday. Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s parliamentary human rights commissioner, said in a Saturday post on X that the steps include demining the road to the city and delivering humanitarian aid.
Waltz’s description of the agreement as “diplomacy at its very best” is his own assessment. His account of how the first lady learned of Oleshky matches the White House statement, and his figure of 2,000 civilians is the high end of the White House estimate. The record also shows that the pope publicly sought the same ceasefire a week before the announcement, and that Moscow describes the first lady’s role as coordinating. Neither the Russian nor the Ukrainian mission to the United Nations had publicly responded to Waltz’s post as of Sunday.