First lady Melania Trump has been accused of trying to steal credit from the pope for securing a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The White House announced the agreement with great fanfare Friday, with President Donald Trump praising Melania for the move. A ceasefire confined to the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky will begin Oct. 29 to allow humanitarian aid in and prepare evacuations, according to a statement from the first lady.
She called the city’s situation “dire” and “on the brink of disaster,” noting that the primarily elderly residents who remained were in urgent need of medical attention.
“It was abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible,” Melania wrote, without mentioning Pope Leo XI.
When asked how it happened, Trump said the ceasefire was Melania’s initiative, contacting “both sides, and both sides wanted to do it.”
“What she wants to do is save children,” Trump said. “She’s doing a very good job.”
Contrary to their claim that the first lady herself made the ceasefire happen, however, the Vatican told Reuters that Pope Leo XIV had called Putin and “asked him to arrange a ceasefire to let aid and food into the town” on Oct. 16.
The Kremlin had also announced the pope’s outreach to the Russian leader, saying in a statement on Oct. 16 that Putin had agreed to “cooperate” with efforts to “create the conditions necessary” to make sure Oleshky residents are safe and provided with “vital supplies.”
The Vatican’s secretary of state, Pietro Parolin, said the ceasefire was the pope’s initiative.
The pope also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Oct. 19, according to a Vatican announcement.
Melania Trump was called out on social media for neglecting to mention the pope’s involvement.
“Pope Leo personally called Putin and Zelenskyy, pushing for a ceasefire in Ukraine,” former Biden aide Chris Jackson posted. “Now the Trump White House is trying to give MELANIA TRUMP the credit, completely ignoring the Pope’s efforts!”
After the pope spoke with both leaders and the Kremlin made its initial admission of cooperation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed a ceasefire agreement, crediting Melania on Friday.
Ukraine followed soon after, with Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets confirming the arrangement and Melania’s mediation.
Ukrainian official Davyd Arakhamia described the city-confined ceasefire agreement as the result of a long process involving both Melania and Pope Leo.
The Vatican didn’t validate Melania’s claim of indispensability, but corroborated her efforts.
This isn’t the first time Melania has been accused of taking credit for someone else’s work.
Melania said she had written her 2016 Republican National Convention address “with as little help as possible.” But heaps of passages closely match Michelle Obama’s 2008 convention speech.
Trump Organization writer Meredith McIver later admitted she inserted the borrowed language while working on the address with Melania, refuting Melania’s “pretty much all-by-herself” claim.
