Melania Trump says Putin responded to her letter about Ukrainian children

First Lady of the United States Melania Trump has received a response from Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. This became known with her address at the White House.

"We must promote a future for our children that is full of potential, security and freedom. A world where dreams will be realized, not destroyed by war," she said.

The first lady added that a lot has happened since Putin received her letter in August.

"He responded in writing, signaling his willingness to speak with me directly and providing details about Ukrainian children living in Russia," Trump said.

She emphasized that since then she has had an "open channel of communication" with the Russian dictator regarding "the welfare of these children".

According to the first lady, her representative is working with Putin's team to "ensure the safe reunification of children with their families." She claims that eight children have been reunited with their families in the last 24 hours.

She said that she had learned a lot about the issue over the past three months and assured that Russia "has demonstrated a willingness to disclose objective and detailed information reflecting the current situation.".

Melania Trump said she has two objectives: to optimize and ensure information exchange between the parties, and to establish communication between children and their families until every child returns home.

She mentioned the young men and women who were minors at the time of deportation but have already reached their 18th birthday.

"Given the dangers of crossing this war-torn region, their safe return requires coordinated assistance. Russia has agreed to reunite those over the age of 18 within a short time frame. Again, this remains an ongoing process. Plans are already underway to reunite more children in the near future. I hope that peace will come soon," summarized the First Lady of the United States.

• On August 16, 2025, it was reported that Trump handed Putin a letter from his wife about Ukrainian children.
• Later, Fox News published a photo of the letter. In the letter, Melania does not mention Ukraine or the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the children referred to in the letter are not named in Ukrainian.