Melania’s plea to Putin for Ukrainian children sparks Kremlin fears | US | News

President Trump described a “productive” phone call with Russia’s Putin, sharing that the Russian leader “thanked” Melania for her efforts regarding kidnapped Ukrainian children.

Trump posted on Truth Social: “President Putin, thank you to First Lady Melania for her care with the children. She was very grateful and said it would continue.”

Correspondence between Melania and Putin resulted in eight children displaced by the Russia-Ukraine conflict being reunited with their families.

Putin’s reaction followed a letter Melania gave him during his Alaska summit with Trump in August, at a time when concerns about the Donald’s health were growing due to an unexplained visit.

“Since then, President Putin and I have maintained open communication regarding the welfare of these children.

“Over the past three months, both parties have had various back-channel meetings and phone calls, all in good faith,” the first lady said in a surprise TV interview last week. he said. Express USA.

Last year, Leonid Pasechnik, the Kremlin-appointed leader of the Luhansk People’s Republic, announced that Russia planned to “host” more than 12,000 children from the eastern Ukrainian region that summer.

Additionally, a program called “Helpful Holidays” was launched to sponsor 40,000 Ukrainian children “visit” Russia for summer camps.

There were even plans to take some of the children to Vladivostok, 6,000 miles east of Ukraine and just north of North Korea.

Researchers at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) stated that the proposed “camps” are “a key component of Russia’s campaign to deport Ukrainians, including children, to Russia.”