Melania Trump’s advisor reveals how she bridged Putin, Zelenskyy to broker frontline Ukraine truce

Melania Trump helped broker a planned humanitarian ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine to allow aid into Oleshky and give elderly residents time to leave. Her senior advisor, Marc Beckman, said she used relationships built through earlier negotiations over the return of Ukrainian children to bring the two sides to the table.

The White House says the local truce is expected to begin on 29 October, and that Russia agreed to extend it by two days and widen it across a larger area of Kherson region. Beckman said 34 children have returned to their families in six exchanges since August 2025. Trump described conditions in Oleshky as dire, citing limited electricity, mined roads and regular attacks, as well as shortages of medical care, medicine, food and drinking water.