"Melania Mediates Humanitarian Truce"... Peace Negotiations to Resume

[Anchor]

Russia and Ukraine have abruptly agreed to halt combat in a fiercely contested, Russian-occupied frontline region in southern Ukraine. US President Donald Trump's wife, Melania Trump, directly stepped in as a mediator to secure the truce. A trilateral peace negotiation involving the United States is also scheduled to be held.

This is Washington correspondent Lee Hanseok.

[Reporter]

Oleshky in southern Ukraine was home to 24,000 residents before the war.

Following the destruction of a dam in 2023, 90 percent of the city was flooded and surrounded by landmines. Currently, only about 2,000 people, mostly the elderly and children, remain, suffering from severe shortages of food and medicine.

First Lady Melania Trump stepped in directly as an exclusive mediator to save this city.

The White House announced that, through the mediation of First Lady Melania, both sides agreed to suspend combat and proceed with the evacuation of residents and the delivery of relief supplies via safe corridors.

[Donald Trump / US President : What Melania is doing is saving children, and that is the main goal. Both sides are cooperating with her, and she is doing a fantastic job.]

Both Russia and Ukraine immediately responded positively.

The Kremlin welcomed the efforts of the First Lady, stating that Russian forces would implement the ceasefire starting from the early hours of the 27th, Moscow time. The Ukrainian side also confirmed the opening of permanent humanitarian corridors.

In addition, the United States, Russia, and Ukraine have confirmed that they will resume trilateral working-level peace negotiations early next month in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Ukrainian President : Of course, we are ready to meet tomorrow if necessary, but everything depends on the Russian side.]

However, it remains unclear whether this agreement will lead to a full-scale end to the war.

This measure is limited to a humanitarian cessation of combat in a specific area, and the gaps between the two sides' stances regarding the territorial issue of Donbas remain wide.

Whether this will open a meaningful pathway to peace on the deeply frozen frontline is expected to be decided at next month's negotiation table.

(Camera reporting: Oh Jung-shik, Video editing: Cho Moo-hwan)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.