The First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, reported this Monday that a new minor "separated" by the war in Ukraine has managed to return to their family as part of the "reunification" agreement reached with Russia, a mechanism that was activated thanks to the direct communication channel opened with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the summit held in 2025 in Alaska. With this case, the total number of minors who have returned rises to 34.
"There is nothing more powerful than reuniting a mother with her child after a long period of time. My representative and I are focused on the work to facilitate the upcoming reunifications of those individuals who have been separated from their loved ones due to the war between Ukraine and Russia," the First Lady indicated in a statement.
In the same note, she emphasized that, so far, these efforts have made it possible to "reunify" 34 children with their families since she sent that "peace letter" to Putin, a document that was personally delivered by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to his Russian counterpart during the aforementioned summit in Alaska.
Since that meeting, a constant communication channel has been maintained between Melania Trump's team and that of the Kremlin to process this type of cases. In October 2025, the First Lady herself announced from the White House the repatriation and reunification with their families of the first eight Ukrainian minors thanks to these efforts.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) formally charged Putin in March 2023 for the forced deportation of Ukrainian children, considering that he may have committed war crimes. For its part, the Ukrainian government has repeatedly denounced these transfers, as well as Russia's attempts to indoctrinate minors in the occupied areas.