Kathrine Frich
Moscow seems completely in the dark about the gathering.
High-stakes diplomacy usually belongs to seasoned ambassadors and career politicians.
Yet every once in a while, a major international gathering gets organized from a much less expected corner of Washington.
This week, a surprise invitation has left one side claiming it never even got the memo.
An unexpected host
US First Lady Melania Trump plans to bring Ukrainian and Russian officials together at the White House on November 5, according to United24 Media. In a November 3 announcement, the White House said the meeting will focus on a local truce in Oleshky and the wider Kherson region.
Washington officials credited the first lady with personally opening talks between the two warring nations.
According to the White House statement cited by United24 Media, the planned summit represents “an extraordinary moment in American history” while her personal involvement marks “an unprecedented diplomatic initiative by an American First Lady.”
She is scheduled to speak about the truce at 11 a.m. ET on November 5, though the White House did not say which officials would attend. In Kyiv, lawmaker Oleksandr Korniienko, who leads President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s “Servant of the People” party, told TSN that David Arakhamia will head the Ukrainian team.
Confusion in Moscow
Moscow, however, seems completely in the dark about the gathering. The news outlet Astra reported that Kremlin leaders had not been briefed on the White House event at all.
When reporters asked about the talks, Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that he “does not know anything about it yet.”
The diplomatic push centers on Oleshky, a Ukrainian town held by Russian troops since February 2022. By autumn 2026, only 1,700 to 2,000 people remained there with little access to food, medicine, or safe exit routes, United24 Media reported.
After the White House announced on October 23 that Melania Trump had helped broker a temporary pause in fighting, aid trucks finally rolled in and rescues began later that month.
According to United24 Media, the truce also allowed Ukrainian forces on the right bank of the Kherson region to evacuate 167 civilians, including 22 children and 21 residents with limited mobility.
