TOO SOON TO TOAST

Famed Humanitarian Gives Melania Brutal Reality Check About ‘Ceasefire’

Melania Trump has been served a dose of reality about the localized ceasefire in Ukraine that she has hailed as a breakthrough for peace.

Celebrity chef and humanitarian José Andrés has served up a harsh reality check for Melania Trump over the Ukraine ceasefire she says she brokered with Vladimir Putin.

A localized ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky has taken effect after Melania announced to much fanfare from the White House that she had negotiated the truce single-handedly, prompting accusations that she was trying to steal credit from Pope Leo.

The 56-year-old first lady celebrated the prospect of humanitarian aid reaching the city on X Thursday, writing, “May this humanitarian mission end the suffering and begin a new chapter of durable peace between Russia and Ukraine.” However, Russia launched a drone strike on a crowded rail platform in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, killing at ​least 14 people, on the same day, according to Reuters.

Andrés, 57, tagged Melania in a video showing bodies strewn across a railway platform, writing, “one small gesture of ‘compassion’ doesn’t cover up the real tragedy that civilians are facing every day!”

“In the middle of the Oleshky ceasefire, is difficult to see that while over 2k people will be ‘safer’ on paper, they took them initially to Russian territory not Ukranian, simply across the river to Kherson…” the Spanish-born award-winning chef continued, referring to civilians being evacuated from Oleshky to the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Kherson, rather than Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Andrés, who owns multiple restaurants across the U.S. and founded the nonprofit World Central Kitchen, added, “but while this happens civilians keep being hunted all over Ukraine…”

Melania spent the day hailing the Oleshky ceasefire as “historic” while remaining silent about Russian strikes on civilians elsewhere in Ukraine.

Beyond the deadly drone strike in Dnipro, two teenage girls were killed in a Russian drone attack on a busy downtown street in Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, while 23 others were wounded.

Meanwhile, three people were killed and 32 were wounded in Russian strikes on residential buildings in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, Reuters reported, citing regional authorities. Three separate Russian attacks also hit city buses in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia.

Play Video

Representatives for the first lady did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a separate post, Andrés also called on Trump and his special envoys to find a way to bring an end to Russian attacks on civilians, now in their fifth year since Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“@SteveWitkoff @jaredkushner @POTUS please please until to achieve a real ceasefire or even ending the war can you just achieve the simple ask to Putin to stop hunting for children, women, elderly….?” he wrote, adding, “This should be your main job…”

Instead of escalating pressure on the Russian dictator, Trump has delivered him a string of wins this month.

On Thursday, The Washington Sun reported that the president is desperately trying to persuade U.S. firms to accept Russian diesel shipments in a bid to lower diesel prices.

A White House official told the Daily Beast that Trump “wants this war settled so the senseless killing ends.”

“The President and his team remain committed to continuing to play a constructive role in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine, and he remains optimistic that we’ll ultimately get a peace deal done,” the official said. “The United States continues to play a constructive role in speaking to both sides in working towards bringing the war to an end. We are the only country in the world that can play that role.”

FOR WHO THE BELL POLLS

Trump’s Big Gamble Blows Up in His Face in Devastating Poll

Leigh Kimmins

See more of our coverage in your search results.

ADD THE DAILY BEAST ON GOOGLE

Erkki ForsterNight News Reporter

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.