Melania Trump says she's working with Putin on reuniting abducted Ukrainian children

WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump said Friday that she has been working with Russian President Vladimir Putin on reuniting Ukrainian children who were believed to be kidnapped into Russia during the war.

Speaking from the White House, she referred to a letter sent to Putin in August regarding children affected by the war, and said that he wrote back "signaling a willingness to engage with me directly."

“President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children," the first lady said. "For the past three months, both sides have participated in several back-channel meetings and calls, all in good faith. 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."

Trump said that in the last 24 hours, eight children were reunified with their families.

“Three were separated from their parents and displaced to the Russian Federation because of front-line fighting," she said. "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.”

She said that she has also raised concerns about Ukrainians who were minors at the time they were displaced during the conflict, but have since become adults while living in Russia. "Given the dangers of traversing this war-torn region, their safe return requires coordinated assistance," she said. "Accordingly, Russia has agreed to rejoin the individuals who have turned 18 within a short period of time. Again, this remains an ongoing effort. Plans are already underway to reunify more children in the immediate future."

NBC News reached out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office for comment.

Russia has taken thousands of Ukrainian children since it invaded Ukraine and started the war in February 2022. Zelenskyy has brought the issue to the attention of Trump administration officials and President Donald Trump himself.

Zelenskyy estimated in June that more than 200,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia or territories it controls since the war began more than three years ago. Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, has estimated that around 700,000 children have been displaced since Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea.

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Research recently published by the Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab said that Ukrainian children have been taken to more than 200 facilities across Russia, where they are given "re-education" courses focused on Russian patriotism or forced to participate in military training.

The first lady hasn't had as much of a public-facing role as in her husband's first term, and it's unusual for first ladies to get involved in foreign affairs. But when it comes to foreign policy, her spokesman Nicholas Clemens told NBC News: “The First Lady’s impact on her husband’s decision-making process is unparalleled. She possesses an unmatched level of influence compared to any adviser or cabinet member. Mrs. Trump can discreetly influence policy in a manner that is rarely observed by the public due to her singular position.”

Last month, she met with Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly after Trump had hand-delivered his wife's letter about children to Putin. A few days later, Zelenskyy brought a letter from his wife for Trump to deliver to Melania Trump, thanking her for writing to Putin.

Melania Trump and Zelenska discussed the plight of children affected by the war in Ukraine, after the American first lady launched an initiative focused on working with spouses of heads of state on the well-being of young people around the world, Zelenskyy said.

Melania Trump was “pleased” to meet with Zelenska, according to a spokesman for the first lady, and appreciates that “they have a shared vision — advancing the development of children.”