Politics

Zelensky awards Melania Trump Ukraine's Order of Princess Olga for humanitarian work

• 2 min read
Zelensky awards Melania Trump Ukraine's Order of Princess Olga for humanitarian work
U.S. first lady Melania Trump speaks during an announcement in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Oct. 10, 2025. (Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg / Getty Images)

President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded U.S. first lady Melania Trump Ukraine's Order of Princess Olga, 1st Class, on Nov. 4, citing her humanitarian work in Ukraine, according to a presidential decree.

The decree credited Melania Trump with a "significant personal contribution to humanitarian support for Ukraine," as well as active human rights advocacy and charitable work to support people affected by Russia's war and help bring abducted Ukrainian children home.

The award comes days after nearly 800 people were evacuated from Russian-occupied Oleshky in a humanitarian operation that Melania Trump, alongside other actors, helped broker.

The Order of Princess Olga is a Ukrainian state decoration awarded to women for exceptional personal contributions in state service, science, education, culture, and charity.

Previous recipients include international and Ukrainian public figures, including former U.S. House Speaker and current Representative Nancy Pelosi and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

Melania has supported humanitarian efforts related to Russia's war against Ukraine and acted as a diplomatic intermediary in efforts to secure the return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.

After sending Russian President Vladimir Putin a personal letter in August 2025, she established an open channel of communication to negotiate the return of children.

Zelensky previously awarded U.S. billionaire and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Ukraine's Order of Liberty in a decree on Aug. 26. Months later, Musk restricted Ukraine's access to Starlink.

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Tim Zadorozhnyy

Reporter

Tim Zadorozhnyy is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering foreign policy, U.S.-Ukraine relations, and political developments across Europe and Russia. He studied International Relations and European Studies at Lazarski University and Coventry University. Tim began his journalism career in Odesa in 2022 as a reporter for a local television channel. He later spent a year and a half at the Belarusian independent media outlet NEXTA, first as a news anchor and later as a managing editor. He is fluent in English, Ukrainian, and Russian.

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