At the White House, Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev gave Melania Trump a framed drawing by an 11-year-old girl taken from occupied Oleshky to Tuapse, Russia. It read “I love Melania.” Trump later said he met Dmitriev at the event, but not the Ukrainian representatives who were there.
The Gift
Dmitriev presented the drawing during an event following the humanitarian mission in Oleshky. He thanked the first lady for her role in that mission and claimed Putin had “personally helped” maintain the local ceasefire.
The child’s journey is the fact his presentation tried to make disappear. She was taken from a Ukrainian city under Russian occupation to a city in Russia. Her words of affection were displayed at the White House while Moscow cast itself as a benefactor of the people living under its control.
The Oleshky mission got aid in and allowed civilians to leave. That matters. Russia remains an occupier in the crisis its occupation created. Moscow controlled access to the city; Dmitriev used an evacuation and a child’s drawing to ask the audience to thank Putin.
The child’s drawing should not be made into evidence that her removal to Russia was an act of care.
The People in the Room
Ukrainian representatives Dmytro Lubinets and Davyd Arakhamia attended, alongside Russia’s Yana Lantratova. Melania Trump also sent letters to Zelensky and Putin through the two delegations. Ukraine has recognised her humanitarian work: Zelensky awarded her the Order of Princess Olga, First Class, for supporting Ukrainians affected by the Russian invasion, including displaced and deported children.
Then came Trump’s account of whom he had met. He told reporters he had met Dmitriev, but not the Ukrainians. Dmitriev remains under US Treasury sanctions imposed under a Russia-related order in 2022. No delisting had been announced as of 5 November.
Attention is being allocated in a grim way. Ukrainian officials were present to represent people living with the consequences of the occupation. The sanctioned Putin envoy got a meeting with the president and a platform to credit Putin for allowing a humanitarian pause in territory Russia occupies.