The White House office of The First Lady, Melania Trump, has made a significant announcement about a humanitarian ceasefire in the Southern Ukraine city of Oleshky.

Oleshky is located in southern Ukraine, directly across from the Dnipro River in Kherson. Before the war, roughly 24,000 people lived in Oleshky. Today, an estimated 1700-2000 residents remain, primarily older people who have been unable to leave, along with approximately 50 children.   There has not been a formal demographic count in Oleshky since 2022. Since the war began, the city has remained on the front line, with much of its population displaced or evacuated. Following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, approximately 90 percent of the city’s territory was flooded.

White House – First Lady Melania Trump successfully secured a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, localized to the city of Oleshky. Both nations agreed to temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid to enter and to prepare a civilian evacuation through a designated safe passageway.

The localized ceasefire will begin on October 29, 2026.

“The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster. Oleshky’s remaining population is comprised primarily of elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food, and clean water,” said First Lady Melania Trump. “The people of Oleshky have limited electricity, live amid mined roads, and endure regular military attacks. 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.”

First Lady Melania Trump and her representative worked directly with Russian and Ukrainian leadership to define the terms of the localized ceasefire. The First Lady initiated discussions with both nations and aligned the parties on the agreement’s objectives, technical procedures, timing, processes, and terms, in her formal role as Exclusive Intermediary.

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Senator Ron Johnson had complained several times about the FBI delivering false information to the Senate regarding the investigation of the Hunter Biden laptop, prior to the 2020 election.  Today, the Dept of Justice arrested two senior FBI officials for making false statements to congress. [Indictment pdf HERE]

DOJ Press Release – WASHINGTON – Two former senior FBI officials, Nikki Cole Floris, 46, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Bradley Benavides, 56, of Aiken, South Carolina, surrendered today on arrest warrants issued after a criminal complaint charged them with lying to Congress about their involvement in the FBI’s investigations into Hunter Biden, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

[…] “This morning two former FBI members of the now dissolved Foreign Influence Task Force, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, were taken into custody – charged with allegedly lying to Congress in 2023 on matters regarding investigations related to the 2020 election. One of these individuals is on record privately claiming to be ‘running a shadow government’ during the 2020 election,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “As we’ve said repeatedly: weaponization will never be tolerated at this FBI. We have already dismantled the corrupt CR-15 squad that engaged in political weaponization targeting their opponents, including President Trump – and anyone who abuses their position of public trust will be held accountable.”

Floris and Benavides each were charged with making false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2). The charges stem from an ongoing investigation into the since-dissolved FBI Foreign Influence Task Force, or FITF, which led the FBI’s efforts to secure the 2020 election from foreign malign influence. 

[…] Floris and Benavides each were charged with making false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2).  The charges stem from an ongoing investigation into the since-dissolved FBI Foreign Influence Task Force, or FITF, which led the FBI’s efforts to secure the 2020 election from foreign malign influence.  

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President Donald Trump heads to Southwest Florida for a midterm MAGA rally in Fort Myers.  The anticipated start time is 2:30 to 3:00pm with ongoing rally speakers and events.  Livestream Links Below:

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In a series of posts to his X account, Elon Musk has called the baby ugly as it pertains to Ukraine and the DC system that benefits from the continued funding exploits.  This response appears to be pushback against those who are blaming him for restricting the use of Starlink systems.

[SOURCE]

A few hours before this post, the Wall Street Journal published yet another article on the Starlink/Starshield dynamic where they attempted to walk back part of their prior false reporting – yet frame the new information as Musk was still to blame.

(VIA WSJ) – The Ukrainian military says the disruption of its use of Starlink satellites is having a significant impact on Kyiv’s defenses against Russia’s invasion. The slowdown triggered a wave of finger-pointing, much of it focused on the difference between SpaceX’s better-known Starlink service for consumers and its Starshield service for government users.

SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk ordered the slowdown and discussed the decision in a call with President Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. U.S. officials said Trump called Musk Wednesday and asked him to lift restrictions. But Ukrainian officials said they were still suffering from low-speed limits early on Friday.

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis traveled to Regional Southwest airport in Fort Myers to welcome President Trump who is holding a midterm MAGA rally in the region.   President Trump and Governor DeSantis delivered quick remarks.  The video is prompted to the joint remarks; but you can watch the full arrival in the video.

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President Trump delivers remarks to the assembled press pool as he departs from the White House to attend a rally in Fort Myers, Florida.  The impromptu presser is below:

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

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Toward the end of this important meeting readout presented by President Putin’s closest Kremlin advisor Yury Ushakov, the Russian Federation confirms a willingness to participate in a historic trilateral meeting between Chairman Xi Jinping, President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Beijing.

If Xi organizes this meeting, we can be certain all elements of what we traditionally call “the western powers” will be going bananas. Like, literally heads will be exploding from Washington DC, through Brussels, Ottawa and even Sydney and Tokyo. However, Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister, will certainly be in the loop with Trump.

Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov: Good afternoon, colleagues,

Today, at the Constantine Palace in St Petersburg, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin received the US President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. This was a scheduled meeting that had been agreed upon several days ago. As before, Jared Kushner was also expected to participate but was unable to travel due to health reasons. However, a videoconference link was arranged, allowing him to share his assessments and views on the issues under discussion.

I would like to note that this marks the ninth meeting between our President and US representatives, a useful addition to regular telephone conversations held between the Presidents of Russia and the United States.

At the outset, in the presence of the media, our President and Steve Witkoff outlined the issues they intended to raise during the conversation and shared their assessments of the current state of dialogue between the two countries.

For my part, I would like to add that, as always, the conversation was substantive and candid and lasted nearly three hours.

This time, the meeting between the Russian President and Steve Witkoff was preceded by the US envoy’s talks in Oslo with Vladimir Zelensky and representatives of a number of European countries, NATO and the European Commission. Naturally, Steve Witkoff briefed Vladimir Putin on the substance of the talks in Oslo, shared his observations and highlighted certain new approaches and elements in the positions of the European side and Kiev, although there was little in them that could help resolve the Ukraine crisis.

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Most punditry avoid noticing that President Trump’s Emissary Steve Witkoff stands alone as he communicates directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Those same pundits seemingly skip over the dynamic where the Russian government, led by Federation President Putin, permit television cameras to open these talks to the public for viewing.

These two points are remarkable by themselves when you take the history of the relationship between Russia and the United States into context. After all, trust has always been the missing element in both directions. However, the brutal and pragmatic honesty presented by President Donald Trump has created a new map within engagement.

Do not discount how angry the system within Washington DC is about President Trump using executive emissaries, that are outside their control. Never underestimate the professional level of hatred carried by DC politicians toward President Trump on this issue alone.  They despise his outmaneuvering.

When Mr. Witkoff is received by Russia, the statue of Witkoff as a person is framed around the respect that Russian leadership have for who Witkoff represents. He stands alone in the room but carries the weight of President Trump in all measures as reviewed by the Russian delegation. Quite remarkable.

Vladimir Putin held a meeting with US President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the Constantine Palace. On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov and Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev. Video and Transcript Below:

[Transcript] –President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Witkoff, we are delighted to see you – this time in St Petersburg.

We know that yesterday you had a meeting in Norway, and I would like to hear about its outcome.

I would like to thank you and President Trump for your attention to the resolution of the Ukraine crisis. I know that it is a special matter for President Trump, primarily for humanitarian reasons. In our conversations, including our most recent conversation over the phone, he emphasised the importance of ending this conflict to prevent further losses among the personnel on both sides.

Of course, it goes beyond military losses. The civilian population is suffering. In this regard, please pass my most sincere gratitude not only to the President but also to First Lady [Melania Trump] for her contribution to resolving humanitarian issues.

I believe both sides would be interested in discussing plans for restoring our bilateral relations, the Russia-US contacts, including economic cooperation.

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