Melania Trump wrote letter to Putin about kidnapped Ukrainian children, Reuters reports

U.S. First Lady Melania Trump wrote a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin concerning Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children as he arrived in Alaska to meet U.S. President Donald Trump, Reuters reported on Aug. 16.

Trump handed the letter to Putin during the two leaders' nearly three-hour meeting on Aug. 15, two White House officials told Reuters. While the officials did not specify the letter's contents, they said it raised the plight of Russia kidnapping Ukrainian children.

Melania Trump did not attend the summit, which saw the U.S. roll out the red carpet for the Russian dictator. Trump said he and Putin agreed on many points, but that there was still a way to go before reaching a peace deal in Ukraine.

Ukraine has identified more than 19,500 children abducted by Russia during the full-scale war and forcibly transferred to Russia, the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, or Belarus. Only 1,509 have been brought back home.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin and his Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for kidnapping Ukrainian children.

The U.S. is not part of the ICC and wasn't obliged to arrest Putin during his visit.

Ukrainian officials estimate the real figure of abducted children could be far higher than the confirmed nearly 20,000. Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets puts the number at up to 150,000, while Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Daria Herasymchuk has given a range of 200,000–300,000.

During their time in Russia, the children are placed in Russian families or camps, often undergo military training, and are subjected to intense propaganda designed to erase their Ukrainian identity. Those who have returned report being punished for speaking Ukrainian and told that their homeland no longer wants them.

Russian occupation authorities in Ukraine created an online "catalog" where children are offered up for adoption while sorted based on physical traits like eye or hair color. The practice is child trafficking, said the head of Ukrainian NGO Save Ukraine, Mykola Kuleba.

Ukraine has repeatedly said that the return of its abducted children must be part of any peace agreement with Russia.

As Russia trains abducted children for war, Ukraine fights uphill battle to bring them home

Around the world, abducting a child is a serious crime punishable by years behind bars. But when the kidnapper is Russia, justice remains a distant hope. So does the child’s return home. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has identified over 19,500 children who have been forcibly deported to Russia, Belarus, or occupied territories. So far, only 1,300 of them have been safely brought back. During their time in Russia, the children are placed in Russian families or camps, ofte

The Kyiv IndependentDaria Shulzhenko