WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 — First lady Melania Trump made a rare direct appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to “consider the children” as part of a broader call to end the war in Ukraine.
The handwritten letter, composed on White House stationery, was delivered Friday in Alaska by President Donald Trump during his meeting with Putin. While it did not explicitly mention Ukraine, the first lady’s words carried a plea rooted in the suffering of young lives.
“In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone — you serve humanity itself,” she wrote. Melania Trump told Putin that he held the power to “singlehandedly restore” what she described as the “melodic laughter” of children living under the shadow of conflict.
The letter framed childhood innocence as existing “above geography, government, and ideology.” The first lady also noted that with “the stroke of a pen,” Putin could help end their suffering.
A copy of the message was first reported by Fox News Digital and later circulated widely on social media by allies of the president, including U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
The gesture came against the backdrop of ongoing accusations against Moscow over its treatment of Ukrainian children. Since Russia’s 2022 invasion, Ukrainian minors have been forcibly taken across the border to be raised as Russians, according to human rights groups.
The Associated Press reported in 2022 on these transfers, which later prompted the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of war crimes and personal responsibility for the abductions.
Though the first lady did not mention those allegations directly, her appeal placed the focus on what she described as “an innocence which stands above all divisions.”
