Zelenskyy Awards Melania Trump Ukraines Highest Honor for Women

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded U.S. First Lady Melania Trump a state honor for her humanitarian support for Ukraine and her efforts to help children and other civilians affected by the war.The first lady received the Order of Princess Olga, 1st Class, Kyiv’s highest civilian honor for women, by presidential decree dated Nov. 2.The award follows Melania Trump’s key role in brokering a localized ceasefire in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky, which Kyiv and Moscow praised as a success.According to the decree, she was bestowed the award for “significant personal contribution to humanitarian support for Ukraine, active human rights and charitable activities aimed at saving Ukrainian children, citizens affected by Russian aggression, illegally deported and forcibly displaced from the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation.”The honor is named after Olga of Kyiv, a 10th-century ruler of Kyivan Rus who is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church as one of the first members of its ruling dynasty to convert to Christianity.The Epoch Times contacted the Office of the First Lady for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.The ceasefire in Oleshky lasted six days, from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1.“The mission was a success, delivering critical aid to the region and enabling the evacuation of nearly 800 people,” the first lady said in a Nov. 1 post on X marking the end of the temporary truce.“On behalf of America, I commend Russia and Ukraine for their leadership and cooperation surrounding the Oleshky ceasefire.”She said that she hoped the move “serves as a foundation for lasting peace between both nations.”On Nov. 2, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Moscow highly appreciated the coordination between all parties throughout the pause.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also praised the first lady in an interview on the “This Week on Capitol Hill” podcast that aired on Oct. 31, calling her intervention the “first such case” in which Russia had agreed to a ceasefire.“I hope [the initiative] can continue. If it continues and such signals come from America again, it will be absolutely great, and we will support it,” Zelenskyy said.The award for the first lady comes as she prepares to host representatives from Russia and Ukraine at the White House on Thursday.The White House announced the meeting on Nov. 3, describing it as an “extraordinary moment in American history.”“Mrs. Trump independently initiated engagement between the two warring nations and successfully secured a ceasefire in Oleshky and the surrounding Kherson region,” the first lady’s office said in the statement on Nov. 3.“This achievement marks an unprecedented diplomatic initiative by an American First Lady.”During the White House event, Melania Trump is expected to deliver remarks on the ceasefire.Peskov, on Nov. 5, confirmed that Russia would be represented at the White House event by Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova and special presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, according to Russian state news agency TASS.Lantratova was in charge of overseeing the Oleshky ceasefire for Moscow, while Dmitriev has been a prominent figure in multiple Russo–American negotiations throughout the war.Ukraine will be represented at the meeting by Lantratova’s counterpart in Kyiv, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, and Ukrainian lawmaker Davyd Arakhamiia, according to Ukrainian media outlet LIGA.net.