In a show of spousal diplomacy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday delivered a letter written by his wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, to U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and expressed gratitude for her appeal to protect children.
"It’s not to you, it’s to your wife,” Zelensky laughingly told President Donald Trump.
The correspondence was exchanged during a historic meeting between Zelensky and Trump just days after the U.S. President’s Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding cease-fire negotiations in Ukraine, which ended without an agreement to secure peace.
Melania Trump wrote her own letter to Putin calling for the protection of the world's children.
“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 U.S. First Lady wrote in her letter. “Mr. Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter.”
Nearly 20,000 children have been forcibly removed or deported from Ukraine as part of a broader effort to disconnect them from their heritage and identity, according to Bring Kids Back UA, a strategic action plan started by President Zelensky. News outlets and organizations including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have reported that children have been abused and denied communications with their families.
The United Nations has condemned Russia for its actions, which U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said in a March statement have caused “large-scale human rights violations and inflicted unimaginable suffering on millions of children.” Forty countries and the European Union have called on Russia to return the children that have been taken.
Just over 1,500 of the children taken from Ukraine have been returned, according to Bring Kids Back UA. At least 669 children were killed and more than 1,800 others were injured between February 2022 and December 2024, according to the U.N.
“Its a sensitive topic,” Zelensky said during the meeting. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were also present. Various European leaders have joined Zelensky in the U.S. capital in a continued show of support.
The meeting on Monday, during which Trump welcomed Zelensky and opened the door to potentially sending U.S. troops to assist Ukraine, was markedly different than the Ukrainian President's last visit to the White House in February. By contrast, that meeting saw a public confrontation between the countries’ leaders that seemed to strain relations between the Ukraine and the U.S.—an outcome all involved appeared to be seeking to avoid this time around.
In the lead-up to the more conciliatory meeting, however, Trump fueled concerns from Ukrainian officials and European allies by asserting that Ukraine should abandon its aspirations of reclaiming Crimea from Russia and its long pursuit of NATO membership. “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” the President wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. Zelensky has adamantly spoken out against the possibility of ceding territory to Russia.
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