AFP/Getty
Melania Trump will hand Olena Zelenska to write a letter
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his gratitude to Donald Trump at an Oval Office meeting on Monday.
Zelensky said the letter was thanked by Melania for raising awareness of what his government said had at least 19,500 Ukrainian children, who had been kidnapped by Russia since the full invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Melania earlier sent Russian President Vladimir Putin's own letter to beg him to consider the children, saying: “When protecting the innocence of these children, you will not only serve Russia – you serve humanity.”
Her letter did not mention any particular child.
Last weekend, the White House shared a letter to Putin on social media.
Melania said in it that every child dreams of “danger, possibility and safety.”
She wrote: “Mr. Putin, you can restore their melodic laughter with one hand.”
In response to reporters’ questions about the letter, Trump said his wife loved the children very strongly and “had hate to see something like this happen,” adding to other wars.
“She wanted to see this goal, she was very public, very proud, and with great sorrow, because so many people were killed,” he said.
Zelensky praised Melania for being “because she paid attention to one of the most painful and difficult problems in the war – Russia kidnapped Ukrainian children, adding: “We are very grateful for her compassion”.
“This question is at the heart of the humanitarian tragedy in the war – our children, broken families, the pain of separation.”
The Ukrainian president continued: “Her voice is important and her care empowers the cause.”
The Ukrainian government said about 19,500 children were deported and/or forcibly moved from their homes to Russian or Russian-occupied territory, returning about 1,500 people.
In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his director of rights of children, Maria Lvova-Belova, on suspicion of illegal deportation of children.
Russia denied the allegation and said it protected vulnerable children by removing them from the war zone for its own safety.
Returning to children is part of the position in Ukraine’s peace talks with Russia.
“The human cost of this war must end,” said European Commission President Ursula von Leyen on social media after Monday's Zelensky meeting, Trump and the White House's European leaders' meeting.
“This means every Ukrainian child kidnapped by Russia must be returned to their families.”
She thanked Trump for “the clear commitment today to ensure that these children are reunited with their loved ones.”
Von der Leyen responded to Trump’s social media posts, and Trump said missing children around the world were an important issue for Melania.
“They're the best,” said the four-year-old grandfather Valerii Krut, speaking to the BBC in Kiev. [the Russians] Kidnapped many children who now have neither hometown nor parents. ”
“All Ukrainians feel pain,” he said.
Sofia Muravytska, a 19-year-old student, said the correspondence between the two ladies is a sign of progress.
She added: “Ukrainian children are the future of Ukraine.”
Other reports by Alba Morgade in Kyiv