US first lady Melania Trump said eight Ukrainian children have been reunited with their families in the past 24 hours in an “ongoing effort” that follows three months of direct communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Melania Trump said Putin had responded to her letter, which raised the plight of children in Ukraine and Russia and was delivered by President Donald Trump to his Russian counterpart during their meeting in Alaska in August.
“He responded in writing, signaling a willingness to engage with me directly and outlining details regarding the Ukrainian children residing in Russia,” she told reporters at the White House on October 10.
“Russia has demonstrated a willingness to disclose objective and detailed information reflective of the current situation,” Melania Trump added.
She then announced that eight of the Ukrainian children had already been reunited with their families, adding that she was provided with a “detailed report” about them.
“We must foster a future for our children that is rich with potential, security, and complete with free will,” she said.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has since brought thousands of Ukrainian children into Russia and Russian-controlled territories in Ukraine.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in 2023 for Putin as well as Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, in connection with the deportation of Ukrainian children.
Russia denied wrongdoing and claimed it was evacuating Ukrainian children from conflict zones to give them protection from war.
Earlier in 2025, Kyiv estimated that more than 19,500 Ukrainian children were being held by Russia.
In their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly at the end of September, Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska thanked Melania Trump for her “support of Ukraine” and “particular attention to children who became victims of Russia’s brutal war.”
