Melania Trump discusses Ukraine kids with Putin

The First Lady, Melania Trump, announced on Friday that eight Ukrainian children who were kidnapped and held captive in Russia have been returned to Ukraine after back-channel negotiations between her and Russian representatives.

Trump disclosed that she had sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin in August concerning the fate of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the invasion of Ukraine. She mentioned that Putin had responded, showing a willingness to engage with her directly and providing details about the Ukrainian children in Russia.

The First Lady stated that there had been open communication between her and Putin, leading to back-channel meetings and calls to cooperate for the benefit of those involved in the conflict. She confirmed that her representative worked with Putin's team to ensure the safe reunification of children with their families, with eight children already reunited in the past 24 hours.

While Trump described the children as separated due to frontline fighting, Ukrainian officials and human rights groups have evidence that Russian forces actively seized and deported Ukrainian children to Russia. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023 for war crimes related to unlawfully deporting children from Ukraine to Russia, which Russia denies.

Trump mentioned that Moscow had provided detailed information about the children, including their well-being in captivity, which was confirmed by the U.S. government in collaboration with Ukraine. She emphasized that her involvement in addressing the fate of kidnapped Ukrainian minors would continue as an important initiative for her.

The First Lady also revealed plans to return more children to Ukraine from Russia soon and noted that Russia agreed to return adults who were kidnapped as minors but have since turned 18 while in captivity.