Washington — Eight of the Ukrainian children kept in Russia have been returned and reunited with their families in the last 24 hours, first lady Melania Trump announced at the White House Friday, and said there were plans to reunite “more children in the immediate future.”
She also said Russia has agreed to coordinate the return of Ukrainians who were children when they were displaced by the war, but have since turned 18, “within a short period of time.”
CBS News has reported that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine included the systematic and forcible abduction of children by Russia. Ukraine’s state-run “Bring Kids Back” program, launched by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says more than 19,500 Ukrainian kids have been abducted. The first lady did not describe the children as “abducted,” and mostly referred to them as having been separated from their families as a result of the conflict.
The first lady said she has been working for months with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his team to bring missing Ukrainian children home, first writing Putin a letter urging him to return Ukraine’s children.
“Since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children,” she said Friday. “For the past three months, both sides have participated in several backchannel meetings and calls, all in good faith. We have agreed to cooperate with each other for the benefit of all people involved in this war. My representative has been working directly with President Putin’s team to ensure the safe reunification of children with their families between Russia and Ukraine.”
“In fact, eight children have been rejoined with their families during the past 24 hours,” she continued. “Each child has lived in turmoil because of the war in Ukraine,” she said. “Three were separated from their parents and displaced to the Russian federation because of frontline fighting. The other five were separated from family members across borders because of the conflict.”
Russia has also agreed to submit health records of the children, she said, so that Ukrainian families and doctors can know how best to care for them. She is also looking to secure health-related records for Ukrainian children still in Russia.
Mrs. Trump said it’s her goal to facilitate the reunification of children with their families “until each individual returns home.”
“A child’s soul knows no borders, no flags,” she said.
“I hope peace will come soon. It can begin with our children,” she concluded.
