The key facts

  • On November 5 at the White House, Melania Trump passed letters for Putin and Zelensky via Kirill Dmitriev and Davyd Arakhamia
  • The meeting was dedicated to the temporary ceasefire in Alyoshky, Kherson region, in effect from October 27 to November 1
  • The White House did not disclose the contents of the messages

Handing over of letters at the White House

On November 5, at a ceremony at the White House, US First Lady Melania Trump handed over personal letters for the presidents of Russia and Ukraine — Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. The letter for Putin was given to his special representative for investment and economic cooperation, head of the RDIF, Kirill Dmitriev, and the message for Zelensky to the head of the Servant of the People faction in the Verkhovna Rada, Davyd Arakhamia. Both recipients were to receive the letters on behalf of Melania Trump. The White House did not disclose the contents of the messages. The first to report the handing over of the letter to Dmitriev was Gazeta.Ru, the outlet noted that the news was being updated; details of the meeting were later provided by Life.ru.

Context of the meeting: Alyoshky and the humanitarian mission

The occasion for the meeting at the White House was the temporary ceasefire in Alyoshky, Kherson region, which, according to Life.ru, was in effect from October 27 to November 1. The event was also attended by the human rights commissioners of Russia and Ukraine, Yana Lantratova and Dmytro Lubinets. Melania Trump expressed hope that the agreement on Alyoshky would help move toward a long-term peace.

Statements by the parties on the situation in the city

According to Life.ru, during the days of the truce Russian military personnel and volunteers delivered food, drinking water and medicines to Alyoshky, and more than 800 people were evacuated from the combat zone; most of them, the outlet claims, were offered a choice of evacuation destination, and many refused to leave for the direction of Kyiv. Kirill Dmitriev said at the event that Putin personally ordered that the agreements on the ceasefire be fulfilled. The assessments of the situation in the city in the publication are one-sided: the outlet claims that the blockade was organized by Ukrainian military personnel, and LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky recalled that, in his words, the European Commission 'falsely accused' Russia of blockade actions. These statements belong to Russian politicians and Life.ru; there is no independent confirmation or position of the Ukrainian side in the available publications.