White House says Melania Trump ‘secured a ceasefire’ in Ukraine’s Oleshky

No confirmation from Russia or Ukraine as White House says ‘localised’ ceasefire to take effect in Russian-occupied Oleshky.

US first lady Melania Trump is seen in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC [Umit Bektas/Reuters]

The White House has said First Lady Melania Trump has “secured a ceasefire” between Russia and Ukraine in the southern Ukrainian city of Oleshky.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine immediately confirmed the statement on Friday, which comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump has renewed diplomacy aimed at ending the war.

The approach has included upping pressure on Ukraine and handing several recent concessions to Russia.

“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster,” Melania Trump said in a statement released by the White House.

“The people of Oleshky have limited electricity, live amid mined roads, and endure regular military attacks. It was abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible,” she said.

The First Lady added that her representatives worked directly with “Russian and Ukrainian leadership to define the terms of the localized ceasefire” and that civilian leaders from both countries will work together to grant humanitarian access to civilians in the city.

This is a developing story.

白宫称，俄罗斯占领的奥列什基地区将实施“局部”停火，但俄罗斯和乌克兰方面均未对此作出确认。

美国第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普现身华盛顿特区白宫玫瑰园。[Umit Bektas/路透社]

白宫表示，第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普“促成了俄罗斯和乌克兰在乌克兰南部城市奥列什基的停火”。

周五，俄罗斯和乌克兰均未立即证实该声明。与此同时，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普的政府重启了旨在结束战争的外交努力。

这一策略包括加大对乌克兰的压力，并向俄罗斯做出多项让步。

“奥列什基的局势十分严峻。奥列什基是一座处于灾难边缘的前线战城，”梅拉尼娅·特朗普在白宫发布的一份声明中说。

“奥列什基的居民电力供应有限，生活在布满地雷的道路上，还要忍受频繁的军事袭击。很明显，如果没有我的介入，向该市运送人道主义援助物资和疏散老年人是不可能的，”她说道。

第一夫人补充说，她的代表直接与“俄罗斯和乌克兰领导人合作，确定了局部停火的条款”，两国文职领导人将共同努力，为该市平民提供人道主义援助。

这是一个正在发展中的新闻。