Zelensky decorates Melania Trump as Russia cuts power across Kyiv
Volodymyr Zelensky has awarded Melania Trump the Order of Princess Olha, first class, Ukraine’s highest award for women, for her “significant personal contribution to humanitarian support for Ukraine” after the Kherson ceasefire that allowed several hundred people to leave occupied Oleshky. Overnight Russian strikes on generating plants and substations in nine regions caused hours-long power and water outages across Kyiv, while Ukrainian drones killed three people in Russia’s Belgorod region.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations are to meet at the White House on Thursday at the First Lady’s invitation; the White House said she had “independently initiated engagement between the two warring nations and successfully secured a ceasefire”, calling it “an unprecedented diplomatic initiative by an American First Lady”. Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets and his Russian counterpart Yana Lantratova, who travelled into Oleshky together last week, will attend alongside Davyd Arakhamia, who leads Mr Zelensky’s party in parliament, and the Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev; both sides have thanked Mrs Trump, though neither has elaborated on what her involvement amounted to. Russia’s defence ministry said it hit two power stations in the Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions, and residents of the capital were urged to use public drinking fountains and warming centres. The search continued at Komyshuvakha, where Monday’s bombing of an aid point and shelter has killed at least 40. Mrs Trump is to speak on the ceasefire at 16:00 GMT on Thursday.