Melania Trump demands humanity over war as survivor pulled from rubble

Melania Trump brought Russian and Ukrainian officials together at the White House on Thursday and urged both sides to choose "humanity over war" ahead of talks next week in Abu Dhabi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev was among the officials at the rare face-to-face event with Ukrainian representatives.

The gathering was staged to mark a six-day ceasefire that Melania Trump helped broker in the Russian-controlled city of Oleshky.

That deal expired on Sunday.

Special Envoy of the President of Russia for Investment and Economic Cooperation Kirill Dmitriev spoke next to US first lady Melania Trump after the meeting.

The event followed the expiry of a six-day ceasefire to evacuate civilians from the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky.

The meeting took place at the White House in Washington, DC, on November 5, 2026.

President Donald Trump's administration is ramping up efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine, which began when Russian forces invaded Ukraine in early 2022.

A trilateral meeting with officials from the US, Ukraine and Russia is planned for November 10 to 11 in Abu Dhabi.

"We have chosen humanity over war," the First Lady said at the event.

"We must use the courage we brought to Oleshky to find common ground through a shared concern for the suffering of innocent people," she added.

Melania Trump said she was "involved in every stage of the planning" of the temporary ceasefire.

That included reviewing aerial images and assessing roadways and hospital access.

President Trump, who did not attend the event, lauded his wife's role in the Oleshky ceasefire.

He told reporters in October that "she does better than our professionals."

Separately, rescuers found a survivor three days after Russia bombed an aid distribution point in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced the discovery on Thursday.

He said the death toll from the bombing now stood at 43.

Zelenskiy said on Telegram that dozens more people might still be trapped under the debris.

Rescue work and efforts to identify the bodies are continuing.

Rescuers searched the bodies of residents at the site of an underground shelter in the compound of a local school.

That school had been used as a humanitarian aid hub.

It was hit by a Russian airstrike in the frontline town of Komyshuvakha, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The ceasefire Melania Trump helped arrange was focused on evacuating civilians from Oleshky, a town under Russian occupation since early in the war.

Oleshky is located in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine, near the Dnipro River.

The area has seen heavy fighting and shelling throughout the conflict.

A six-day pause in combat allowed some civilians to leave the city, though exact numbers of evacuees were not provided in the source material.

The ceasefire expired on Sunday, November 1, 2026, according to the timeline of events.

The White House meeting on Thursday, November 5, was the first time Russian and Ukrainian officials sat together in the same room at the White House since the war began.

Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, represented Russia.

Ukrainian representatives were also present, though their names and titles were not specified in the source.

The meeting was described as a "rare face-to-face event."

Melania Trump's direct involvement in war diplomacy is unusual for a first lady.

She said she reviewed aerial images and assessed roadways and hospital access as part of planning the ceasefire.

President Trump's public praise of his wife's role — calling her better than "our professionals" — drew attention to her hands-on approach.

The upcoming trilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi is expected to include US, Ukrainian and Russian officials.

The exact agenda of those talks was not disclosed in the source.

The bombing in Zaporizhzhia that killed 43 people targeted an aid distribution point.

The site was an underground shelter in the compound of a local school in Komyshuvakha.

That school was being used as a humanitarian aid hub.

The airstrike hit the location, killing 43 people and trapping many others under debris.

A survivor was found three days after the bombing, according to Zelenskiy.

The Ukrainian president said dozens more might still be trapped.

Rescue operations and body identification efforts are ongoing.

The Zaporizhzhia region has been a frequent target of Russian airstrikes throughout the war.

Komyshuvakha is a frontline town near the Zaporizhzhia front line.

The war in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, when Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion.

The conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of civilian deaths and millions of displaced people.

International efforts to negotiate a ceasefire have repeatedly failed.

The Trump administration has increased its push to end the war in recent months.

Melania Trump's role in the Oleshky ceasefire marked a rare instance of a first lady directly mediating a local truce.

The Abu Dhabi talks represent the next step in diplomatic efforts.

Whether those talks will lead to a broader ceasefire remains uncertain.

The source material does not indicate any immediate follow-up meetings or commitments from either side.

The survivor found in Zaporizhzhia was pulled from the rubble three days after the bombing.