US President Donald Trump has reportedly hand-delivered a personal letter from First Lady Melania Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday (August 15). The private letter was about the plight of children in Ukraine and Russia, a news report stated, citing White House officials.
The officials did not divulge into the details on the content of the letter, other than mentioning that it raised concerns about the abduction of children in the war zone over the last three years, the White House officials told Reuters. Though Melania was born in Slovenia, she did not accompany Trump to Alaska.
The letter was delivered to the Russian President at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson during their summit talks in Anchorage, Alaska. During the meeting, which lasted for almost three hours, the two leaders discussed the war in Ukraine. It was their first meeting in six years, and the US President emphasized for peace in the region. But the discussion ended without a ceasefire deal.
Plight of Children in Ukraine and Russia
The abduction of children has been a sensitive issue between the US, Ukraine, and Russia. Ukraine claimed tens of thousands have been taken from its territory to Russia or Russian-occupied areas without parental consent, according to Ukrainian officials.
Although exact figures are unclear, Ukraine reported in March that around 19,500 children have been abducted by Russia, though the actual number could be much higher.
Russia said the reason for taking the children away was to protect them from the war zone conditions.
However, the United Nations Human Rights Office said the abduction of vulnerable children from Ukraine to Russia was an unlawful act by the country. The organization said the country violated the rights of these children since 2022, when Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Two years ago, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of war crimes for unlawfully transferring children and deporting them from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.
