Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska has shared her gratitude to American First Lady Melania Trump for her letter challenging Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Melania has become an outspoken critic of the Russian president, and argued in a letter last week that Putin has a responsibility to protect the children of the world amid reports that at least 20,000 children have been abducted by Russian forces since their full-scale invasion in 2022.
The actual number is believed to be much higher, with some estimating it could be as many as 300,000 children who have been kidnapped from Ukraine and taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians.
The issue has become a deeply sensitive issue in the war-torn country, and as her husband, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky sat down with President Donald Trump on Monday, Zelenska sought to thank Melania for bringing attention to the cause.
She had her husband hand deliver a ‘letter of gratitude’ to Trump to pass off to his wife, Zelensky revealed on social media.
‘I want to thank @FLOTUS Melania Trump for her attention to one of the most painful and difficult issues of this war – the abduction of Ukrainian children by Russia,’ he wrote. ‘We deeply appreciate her compassion and her letter to Putin.
‘This issue lies at the heart of the war’s humanitarian tragedy – our children, broken families, the pain of separation.’
He then announced that he asked President Trump ‘to pass along’ his wife’s letter to the American First Lady, noting that ‘her voice matters and her care gives strength to this cause.
Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska has shared her gratitude to American First Lady Melania Trump for her letter challenging Russian President Vladimir Putin
Zelenska had her husband, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky, pass on her ‘letter of gratitude’ to President Donald Trump to hand over to Melania
‘We are working tirelessly to bring every child home,’ Zelensky vowed. ‘The same applies for our prisoners of war and civilians held in Russia for years, some since 2014, in very bad conditions.’
‘Thousands of people still need to be freed – and this is a part of making peace,’ he continued, adding that he will now ‘work to negotiate [an] all-for-all prisoners of war exchange and we are grateful to have strong friends who help.’
Zelensky’s message came in response to a post from President Trump, in which he said he had also discussed the matter of the abducted children with European Union President Ursula van der Leyen.
‘It is a subject at the top of all lists and the World will work together to solve it, hopefully bringing them home to their families,’ the American president wrote.
In her letter, Melania told Putin it is his responsibility as a world leader to protect the children of the world.
‘Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger,’ the First Lady wrote in her letter, which her husband later shared to social media.
‘As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope. As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few.
‘Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all—so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded.’
Melania’s letter came as her husband met with the Russian president in Alaska
Trump declared on Friday he made ‘some headway’ in the negotiations with Putin
She then went on to tell the Russian president that it is his duty to protect children and the future generations.
‘A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation’s descendants begin their lives with a purity—an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology,’ Melania said.
‘Yet in today’s world, some children are forced to carry a quiet laughter, untouched by the darkness around them—a silent defiance against the forces that can potentially claim their future.’
‘Mr. Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter,’ the first lady wrote. ‘In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone—you serve humanity itself.
‘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.
War has been raging in Ukraine since Russian forces invaded in 2022
President Donald Trump is now trying to negotiate a peace deal between the two countries
Yet it remains unclear what may come of President Trump’s back-to-back meetings with Zelensky and Putin.
Following his sit-down with the Russian leader on Friday, Trump declared they had an ‘extremely productive meeting,’ reaching some agreements even though Trump was unable to get Putin to agree to an immediate ceasefire.
The Russian president instead declared his country still needs to ‘eliminate the primary roots, the primary causes, of that conflict.’
When Trump then met with Zelensky on Monday, the US president said he was prepared to provide military support to Kyiv in the event of a peace deal.
‘We will give them very good protection, very good security’, the President said. ‘There’ll be a lot of help when it comes to security. It’s going to be good.’
He also refused three times to rule out putting American boots on the ground though any assistance is more likely to come in the form of air support.
Still, there was some debate over whether Russia should regain and retain some of its territory after Trump showed Zelensky a giant battlefield map showing 20 percent of the country under Russian control.
Even then, though, Zelensky said he and Trump did not argue.
‘We had a truly warm, good and substantial conversation,’ Zelensky said.
Following the meeting on Monday, Trump said he spoke with Putin and discussed plans for a summit between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, at a location to be determined.
After that Trump said he will sit down with both leaders in an attempt to make peace in the war torn country.
'This was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,' he said.
Zelensky responded by saying 'we are ready' for any leader-level meetings while speaking to reporters after the White House. He said it's the only way to solve these 'complicated and painful issues.'