Audio Briefing: Melania Trump Brings Russia and Ukraine Together at the White House

First Lady Melania Trump hosted Russian and Ukrainian officials at the White House on November 5, 2026, urging both sides to choose humanity over war and to build on the six-day Oleshky ceasefire she helped broker toward an enduring peace. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, Ukrainian lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia and the two countries' human rights commissioners attended the first gathering of its kind, as President Donald Trump also met Dmitriev in the first in-person Russian-American contact since the midterm elections.

This 4-minute-27-second briefing covers the White House event, the Oleshky truce that freed nearly 800 people, and the road ahead: American-mediated trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hope for a leaders' meeting with Vladimir Putin, and security-guarantee discussions in Brussels. Cross-checked against Reuters, the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and NPR reporting.