Melania Trump claims she is in contact with Putin to repatriate Ukrainian minors forcibly transferred to Russia

In a formally announced statement from the White House, U.S. First Lady Melania Trump said Friday that she is in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to repatriate Ukrainian children forcibly transferred to Russia, and that some have already been returned to their families. “This remains an ongoing effort,” she stated.

Donald Trump’s wife has affirmed that Putin has responded to a letter from her and that there is an open line of communication, a channel that has allowed the return of eight Ukrainian minors to their country in the last 24 hours. “My representative has been working directly with President Putin’s team to ensure the safe reunification of children with their families between Russia and Ukraine,” the first lady stated. “In fact, eight children have been rejoined with their families during the past 24 hours.”

This line of communication was reportedly opened after Trump, during the summit between the U.S. and Russian leaders in Alaska in August, gave Putin a letter signed by Melania Trump, in which she asked him to protect the children of war. “Much has unfolded since President Putin received my letter last August, he responded in writing, signaling a willingness to engage with me directly, and outlining details regarding the Ukrainian children residing in Russia,” she stated. “And since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children.”

Regarding the eight returned children, the first lady explained that three were evacuated to Russia without their parents “because of front line fighting” near where they lived, and the other five were “separated from family members across borders because of the conflict,” all of them in the Russian-occupied Donbas region, which Moscow refuses to relinquish. The Kremlin has claimed that these are ethnically Russian minors to justify the transfers. In 2024, Kyiv estimated the number of children kidnapped by the neighboring country at 20,000.

“Russia has demonstrated a willingness to disclose objective and detailed information reflective for the current situation. The Russian Federation provided biographies and photographs of each child involved in this week’s reunification, along with an overview of the social, medical, and psychological services afforded to the Ukrainian children,” she added, assuring that Moscow has also agreed to repatriate those forced to move to Russia as minors and who are now 18 years old.

“This remains an ongoing effort. Plans are already underway to reunify more children in the immediate future. I hope peace will come soon; it can begin with our children,” she concluded.

Adding to this sudden display of bilateral warmth is a message from the president on his social media platform, Truth, in which he thanks his Russian counterpart for his words about his role in achieving a peace agreement for Gaza. “Thank you to President Putin,” Trump wrote, along with a clip from a video in which the Kremlin leader states that, unlike others who have “done nothing for the world,” Trump “solves complex problems, crises that last for decades.” After the fiasco of the aforementioned Alaska summit, where he rolled out the red carpet for Putin, and after recently stating that he sees Ukraine capable of recovering lost territory and even winning the war — an assertion that contradicted his previous statements — the Trumps appear to be sending signals of a thaw to the Kremlin.

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