What happened
First Lady Melania Trump hosted Russian and Ukrainian officials separately in Washington on Wednesday, calling for a lasting truce in the war in Ukraine. It was her first official diplomatic role since returning to the White House.
"We need a lasting truce in Ukraine, and we want our children to live in peace and in freedom," she told reporters in the US capital. She said she was "committed to peace" and "proud" to take on the role of facilitating talks between the two delegations.
The Ukrainian delegation included Olena Zelenska, the wife of President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council. They were in Washington to discuss the war and prisoners of war. The Russian side was represented by Kirill Dmitriev, Vladimir Putin's envoy for investment and economic cooperation.
The White House said the meetings were "focused on the shared goal of reuniting children with their families, easing humanitarian suffering, and creating the conditions for peace."
On Wednesday, Mrs Trump was also given the Order of Princess Olga, Ukraine's highest award for women. Zelenska was honoured by the US State Department with its International Women of Courage award.
Why it matters
The children are at the centre of the effort. More than 20,000 Ukrainian children have been seized by Russia during the war, according to Kyiv, including hundreds held in orphanages and care homes. Zelensky said in February that more than 1,000 children had already been brought back, and that Melania Trump had played a "key role" in the returns.
She has pressed the issue directly with Moscow. In August she wrote to Putin asking for the return of all Ukrainian children to their families; the letter was hand-delivered by Donald Trump. Last month she wrote to Putin again, asking him to "help end the war."
The meetings came as the war keeps claiming civilian lives. [Russian bombs killed 24 people at a Ukrainian aid centre](/article/russian-bombs-kill-24-at-ukraine-aid-centre), Kyiv said, a reminder of what is at stake while diplomacy moves slowly.
Washington has also kept arming Kyiv. The [US approved a $2.1B sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine](/article/us-approves-500-patriot-missiles-ukraine), pairing military support with the first lady's humanitarian push.
What it means for the US
The first lady's meetings are running alongside the formal US-Russia channel. Dmitriev arrived in Washington ahead of the resumption of US-Russia talks on the war on Thursday. The president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Dmitriev are expected to hold talks in Florida on Thursday, US media reported, as part of efforts to revive the peace process.
President Donald Trump has long described ending the war as a goal, although he has yet to secure a deal. A humanitarian channel focused on children and prisoners of war gives Washington a lower-stakes way to keep both sides talking while the bigger questions of a truce remain unresolved.
For American readers, the stakes are concrete: the war has driven years of US military aid to Kyiv, and any path toward a truce would reshape that spending and the American role in European security.
What happens next
All eyes turn to Florida on Thursday, where Witkoff and Dmitriev are due to meet. Last month Dmitriev also met the US special envoy in the United States, a sign the administration is actively looking for a way to end the war.
Watch whether the children's reunifications pick up pace, and whether Thursday's talks produce any movement toward the lasting truce Mrs Trump called for. European leaders have also been pressing Moscow directly — [Finland and Norway's leaders held a rare call with Putin on Ukraine](/article/finland-norway-leaders-rare-call-putin-ukraine) — and their efforts will run in parallel with Washington's.
