Melania Trump calls for lasting Ukraine truce as she hosts Russian and Ukrainian officials

US First Lady Melania Trump called for a "more enduring" ceasefire in Ukraine as she welcomed Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the White House following last week's truce in the southern region of Kherson. Hundreds of residents of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky facing starvation and constant bombardment were able to evacuate during a six-day ceasefire, which both Moscow and Kyiv credited Trump with brokering.

The unusual White House event saw senior Ukrainian and Russian officials meet away from the setting of official US-brokered peace talks they have been holding without success since last year. The delegations were made up of Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova, as well as Ukrainian MP Davyd Arakhamia and Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

Melania Trump was credited by all for playing a key though unspecified role in the ceasefire, and all parties conveyed to her the gratitude of the Russian and Ukrainian presidents.