First Lady Melania Trump revealed on Friday that she has been working behind the scenes to help reunite Ukrainian children with their families. 

Breitbart News reports that to accomplish this, the first lady revealed that she has had to communicate directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

We certainly did not see such things from Mrs. Trump's predecessor.

🚨 BREAKING: In an amazing development, First Lady Melania Trump announces she has secured the reunification of EIGHT CHILDREN after her letter to President Putin.

She had pleaded with Putin to ensure lost children were returned. They just were.

Wow. Melania IS AMAZING.

She… pic.twitter.com/H4M5zV0v2Z

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 10, 2025

A rare public statement

The First Lady delivered a rare solo statement from the White House on Friday, detailing her effort to reunite Ukrainian children with their families. These are children that were displaced as the result of the Russia-Ukraine war.

The First Lady said:

Each child has lived in turmoil because of the war in Ukraine. 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, including one young girl who has now been reunited from Ukraine to Russia.

Thus far, the First Lady says that she has reunited 8 children with their families.

Mrs. Trump also revealed that this effort began with President Donald Trump hand-delivering a letter that she wrote to Putin. The purpose of the letter was to urge Putin and his government to "protec[t] the innocence of these children." Trump gave it to Putin when they met in Alaska.

Mrs. Trump, on Friday, revealed:

[Putin] responded in writing, signaling a willingness to engage with me directly and outlining details regarding the Ukrainian children residing in Russia. And since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children. For the past three months, both sides have participated in several back-channel meetings and calls, all in good faith.

Background

Breitbart News fills in some of the details of this situation.

The outlet reports:

Ukraine’s official “Bring Kids Back” program states that there are nearly 20,000 reports of “unlawful deportations and forced transfers of children” since Russia invaded in 2022, with 1,605 having been returned.

The outlet goes on to note that the "International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023, accusing him of “war crimes” in relation to the children being held in his country."

Breitbart continues:

The children have been taken to over 200 locations throughout Russia, with many being adopted by Russian families and forced to go through “re-education” programs while older children have received military training.

Mrs. Trump is doing what she can to make a difference in these children's lives.