During the summit in Alaska, US President Donald Trump hand-delivered a letter from first lady Melania Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin, raising the issue of abducted Ukrainian children.
The letter mentioned Ukrainian children abducted during Russia’s full-fledged invasion in 2022, an unnamed official from Trump administrated told Reuters without further elaborating on the content of the letter.
Ukraine accuses Russia of committing a war crime by abducting tens of thousands of Ukrainian children and transferring them to Russia and Russian-held Ukrainian territories without the consent of their families. Putin was indicted by the international criminal court in 2023 and faces arrest in 125 countries for his alleged implication in the abduction of Ukrainian children. Kremlin has denied charges of war crimes leveled against it, claimed that it was merely protecting children in war-zones.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy conveyed his gratitude to Melania Trump on his call with Trump on Saturday, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said on Saturday. “During the conversation, President Zelenskyy also conveyed his gratitude to first lady Melania Trump for her sincere attention and efforts to bring forcibly deported Ukrainian kids back. This is a true act of humanism,” Sybiha posted on X.
Prior to Trump’s meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, the White House said the issue of abduction of Ukrainian children had remained a “concern” for President Trump seven months into his presidency.
Trump-Putin summit held in Anchorage, Alaska yielded no cease-fire agreement. However, on Sunday, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff revealed that during the meeting, Putin agreed to allow the US and the EU to give Ukraine NATO’s Article 5-like protection.