The thousands of Ukrainian children missing or who have been forcibly displaced by Russian forces in the course of the war were brought to the forefront of ceasefire talks after first lady Melania Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin that it is “time” to consider their well-being.
The Ukrainian government said nearly 20,000 children have been deported or forcibly displaced by Russian forces since the start of the war in 2022. Just 1,509 children have been returned to Ukraine, The Children of War tracker said.
The tracker showed other statistics including children who have been killed, wounded, or sexually abused throughout the course of the war.
According to the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, more than 8,400 Ukrainian children have been “systematically relocated” to facilities in Belarus and Russia for a “re-education” process that is characterized as “disconnecting children from their Ukrainian identities through adoption.”
Ahead of President Donald Trump’s summit last Friday with Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, the Atlantic Council called on Trump to speak with Putin about the abducted children and said it would be “difficult to imagine” lasting peace could happen without the kids returning to Ukraine.
While the details surrounding the three-hour, closed-door conversation between Trump and Putin were not made entirely available, it was later revealed that the first lady penned a letter to Putin in which she raised the issue of children’s well-being.
The letter was a rare act by an American official directed at the leader of Russia. The first lady asked Putin to protect the innocence of children as the efforts to end the war in Europe continue.
“In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone — you serve humanity itself,” the first lady wrote in the letter, shared online. “Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of the pen today.”
“It is time,” she concluded.
Trump delivered his wife’s letter to Putin during the meeting.
After the meeting, Trump and Putin revealed little of what progress was made and did not take questions from the press. Trump said it was a productive meeting and they agreed on some things but not others.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reportedly conveyed his gratitude to the first lady on his call with Trump over the weekend, Reuters reported.
Zelenskyy and other European leaders then made their way to Washington to meet with Trump on Monday, the first time the Ukrainian leader was back in the Oval Office since an explosive meeting with Trump in February.
The Ukrainian leader opened his televised remarks to Trump by thanking the first lady for her call to protect children. He shared that his wife, Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, had written her American counterpart a letter of gratitude.
“Using this opportunity, many thanks to your wife, first lady of the United States, she sent a letter to Putin about our children,” Zelenskyy said.
Trump was asked by a member of the press about his wife’s letter to Putin, and he replied that she has a “great love of children” and she “very openly, very proudly” wants to see the war end.
Von der Leyen: Talks advancing on returning ‘abducted children’
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, shared thoughts on X on Tuesday after the meeting.
“In Washington, D.C., talks advanced on strong security guarantees for Ukraine, ending the bloodshed, sanctions and the return of the abducted children,” she wrote. “Our work and close cooperation continues.”
Following the meeting, Trump said he spoke with Putin and was pushing for a one-on-one meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy. After the two leaders meet, then a trilateral meeting with Trump present will occur, he said.
“Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,” Trump said on Truth Social.