An unusual piece of diplomacy is taking shape in Washington. US First Lady Melania Trump is due to host officials from both Russia and Ukraine at the White House on Thursday, days before delegations from the two warring countries and the United States meet in Abu Dhabi.
Who is coming
Russian state news agency TASS, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, reported on Wednesday that Moscow’s adviser for international economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, and its human rights ombudsman, Yana Lantratova, plan to meet Mrs Trump. The Kremlin attached a condition: the meeting will go ahead provided all the logistical arrangements work out.
On the Ukrainian side, human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said he is travelling to Washington for what he called important meetings. In a Facebook post, he asked followers what single message they would like him to pass on to the first lady. Mrs Trump’s office has said she will personally bring representatives of two nations actively at war together at the White House.
A ceasefire that earned a medal
The meeting follows a rare moment of cooperation on the front line. Last month, the first lady announced a localised truce between Ukrainian and Russian forces to allow residents of Oleshky, in the Kherson region, to leave. They had endured weeks of shortages of food and medicine.
The pause was respected by both sides, allowing roads to be demined and civilians to depart for either Ukraine or Russia. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recognised her role by awarding her the Order of Princess Olga, First Class. The presidential decree cited her significant personal contribution to humanitarian support for Ukraine and her work on human rights and charity.
Her office said she had independently initiated the engagement that secured the truce. It described the achievement as an unprecedented diplomatic initiative by an American first lady. She has also been involved in efforts to return Ukrainian children taken to Russia.
The wider diplomatic picture
The White House meeting is the opening act in a busy week. Next week, delegations from Ukraine, Russia and the United States are due to meet in Abu Dhabi, in what will be the first talks involving all three sides since February. Zelenskyy said he held detailed conversations, each lasting about an hour and a half, with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to prepare.
In Brussels on Thursday, a NATO-led working-level meeting involving American, German, French and British representatives, alongside Ukraine’s ambassador, is also feeding into the process. European officials familiar with the preparations believe the prospects for a breakthrough are limited. They hope for modest agreements on prisoner exchanges and on protecting energy infrastructure.
Hope tempered by the battlefield
Any optimism has to be set against events on the ground. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is grinding through its fifth year. Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said Russia launched 289 drones and 17 ballistic missiles at Ukraine in overnight strikes. On Thursday, firefighters were working at the site of a destroyed warehouse on the outskirts of Kyiv after a Russian drone attack.
Concern also lingers in Kyiv and European capitals over a recent rapprochement between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, which has fuelled fears that Washington could eventually turn its back on Ukraine. Meanwhile, thousands of troops from European countries are preparing to rehearse a post-war deployment to Ukraine in Poland, a reminder that Europeans are planning for several outcomes at once.
Why this unconventional channel matters
First ladies rarely sit at the centre of conflict diplomacy, and sceptics will question how much a humanitarian channel can achieve while the fighting continues. Supporters of the approach point to Oleshky as proof that narrow, practical agreements can succeed where broad political negotiations have stalled.
The Thursday meeting is expected to focus on humanitarian issues, which have traditionally offered the least contentious ground between the warring parties. If the first lady’s channel can help produce progress on civilian evacuations or the return of children, it may build some trust before the harder discussions begin in Abu Dhabi.
Mrs Trump was due to speak publicly at the White House on Thursday morning. What she says, and who stands beside her, will offer the first clues about how much weight this unusual track can bear.
