Zelenskyy awards US first lady Ukrainian civilian honour

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy honoured US First Lady Melania Trump for helping secure a ceasefire that allowed civilians to safely leave a Russian-controlled town in Ukraine.

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

KYIV: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday (Nov 4) awarded US First Lady Melania Trump a national honour for her role in brokering a partial ceasefire that allowed the evacuation of civilians from a Russian-occupied town.

"I hereby decree that the Order of Princess Olga, First Class, be awarded to Melania Trump, First Lady of the United States of America," a decree read on the Ukrainian presidential website.

The text acknowledged her "significant personal contribution to humanitarian support for Ukraine, and for active human rights and charitable work".

Last month, Melania Trump announced a localised truce between Ukrainian and Russian forces to allow for residents of Oleshky on the southern front to leave, after suffering weeks of shortages of food and medicine.

The rare halt in fighting, which was respected by both sides, allowed roads to be demined and residents to depart for either Ukraine or Russia.

Melania Trump, who has also been involved in efforts to return Ukrainian children taken to Russia, has since announced that she will host representatives from both sides in Washington.

Sign up for our newsletters

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Subscribe here

Get the CNA app

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Download here

Get WhatsApp alerts

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

Join here