Melania Trump leads reunification effort for Ukrainian children
President Melania Trump confirmed that eight Ukrainian children have been reunited with their families in Russia in the past 24 hours.
WASHINGTON – Vladimir Putin’s government has agreed to return Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia as minors and turned 18, First Lady Melania Trump said in a rare White House address, highlighting her personal efforts to reunite the children with their families.
President Trump has held relatively few White House events since her husband returned to office, and her decision to speak out about missing children (who she described as “residing” or “deported” to Russia) was a notable use of her platform.
She said the aim is to ensure that children are regularly reunited with their families until all children are returned home. “As the first lady, this is an important initiative for me,” Trump said. “It is built on common purpose and lasting impact.”
tens of thousands the children The Ukrainian government said they were forcibly taken to Russia during an unprovoked war by Moscow. We’ve been working to get them back.
President Trump announced on October 10, “Given the dangers of traveling through this war-torn region, their safe return requires coordinated assistance. That’s why Russia has agreed to reunite those who turn 18 in a short period of time,” adding that “plans are already underway to reunite many more children in the near future.”
President Trump said eight children affected by the conflict have been reunited with their families in the past 24 hours. The three were reportedly separated from their families during the fighting and taken to Russia. The five people reportedly crossed the border and were separated from their families.
The first lady did not say whether she had negotiated the return with President Putin. Trump made the appeal to the Russian president in August in a letter that her husband handed to Putin during a summit in Alaska.
“He responded in writing, indicating his readiness to have a direct dialogue with me and outlining details regarding Ukrainian children living in Russia,” she said on October 10.
Trump has since said he has “open channels of communication” with Putin about the welfare of children. “Over the past three months, both sides have participated in several rounds of consultations, all of which have been done in good faith,” the first lady said.
President Trump has also spoken about the issue with Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, and met with her at the United Nations last month.
The Ukrainian government estimates that nearly 20,000 children have been abducted and taken to Russia since the war began. The Humanitarian Institute at the Yale School of Public Health, a war crimes research group, says the number of children affected by these forced removals could be as high as 35,000.
A group of Yale University researchers said in a September report that Russia operates an “unprecedented” network of brainwashing and militarized camps where abducted children are held indefinitely or until they are formally adopted or placed with Russian families who return home.
In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for President Putin and his top aides for illegally deporting children to Russia. The Russian government denies committing war crimes.
