Kathrine Frich
While celebrating the truce people were killed by Russian missiles.
When big diplomatic moments play out in front of the cameras, the pictures always look hopeful.
Handshakes and warm speeches are meant to show the world that progress is finally happening.
On the ground, though, the reality behind those smiles can look completely different.
Smiles in Washington
On Thursday, First Lady Melania Trump hosted representatives from both Moscow and Kyiv at the White House, according to the Irish Star.
They gathered to celebrate a six-day local truce she helped arrange in Oleshky, a city in Ukraine’s divided Kherson region, which paused fighting there from October 27 to November 1.
During the gathering, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s chief envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, handed the first lady a child’s drawing and praised her “distinguished humanitarian role” while passing along personal thanks from the Kremlin leader.
Data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine shows that since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, the conflict has left at least 707 Ukrainian children dead, 2,548 injured, and 2,317 missing.
“Let Oleshky be the modest spark that grows into a lasting flame of peace,” Melania said at the event, where the Irish Star noted she took no questions after stating that almost 800 residents were evacuated during the pause.
Deadly strikes continue
What went unmentioned in Washington was the bloodshed unfolding elsewhere.
On the very day the first major Oleshky rescues began, a Russian jet-powered drone hit a train platform 160 miles away in Dnipro, killing 14 waiting passengers and wounding at least 14 others, including an 11-year-old boy, the Irish Star reported.
Petro Andrushchenko, who leads the Center for the Study of the Occupation, heard the weapon fly over his neighborhood before impact.
“Melania, look, they just killed two more little girls,” Andrushchenko told the Daily Beast. “While screaming to the world how much he wants Melania Trump to mediate saving 1,500 people in Oleshky, Putin continues to kill civilians 10 minutes away from my house, continues to bomb Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia.”
A propaganda tool
The violence kept climbing all week. According to the Irish Star, Russian guided bombs hit an old school and shelter in Komyshuvakha on Monday as locals lined up for aid, and by Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported 40 dead and up to 30 trapped in the rubble while fresh strikes knocked out water and power around Kyiv.
“Unfortunately, there has been very little reaction from the world to this insane attack,” Zelensky wrote on X. “But it, like thousands upon thousands of other war crimes Russia has committed against Ukraine and Ukrainians, demands a strong response. Evil always goes further if it is left unanswered.”
For Andrushchenko, the White House celebration only helped Moscow spin the war.
“Now Putin will be a ‘humanitarian’ for moving people from Oleshky to Russia. The Oleshky operation is truly the greatest victory of Russian propaganda,” he told the Daily Beast, adding that Moscow is using the Trumps as a front to blame Kyiv for the suffering in Oleshky.
