During his meeting on Monday at the Oval Office with Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski handed a letter to the Ukrainian First Lady Olna Zelenska to Melania Trump.

According to Zelenski, the letter aimed to thank Melania for raising her awareness of at least 19,500 Ukraine children who, according to Kiev, have been abducted by Russia after the full invasion of 2022.

Melania Trump had previously sent her own letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, inviting him to think about the children: “By protecting the innocence of these children, you do not only serve Russia, you serve humanity.”

Melania’s letter did not refer to specific children, but was generally humanitarian.

On the weekend, the White House released through social networks Melania Trump’s letter to Vladimir Putin.

In her letter, Melania said that every child dreams of “love, abilities and safety from danger”.

“Mr. Putin, you can restore their melodic laughter on your own,” he wrote.

Responding to a journalist question on Monday, President Donald Trump said his wife “feels very strong” about the issue, has a “great love for children” and “hates to see such things happen”, adding that the same is true for other wars.

“He would love to see this war end. He says it very openly, very proud, but also with great sadness, because so many people have been killed, “he added.

Ukraine President Volodimir Zelenski praised Melania Trump for her attention to “one of the most painful and difficult issues of this war, the abduction of Ukrainian children from Russia”.

“We deeply appreciate its compassion,” she said, adding: “This issue lies in the heart of the humanitarian tragedy of war – our children, dissolved families, the pain of separation. Her voice is important and her care gives her strength to this purpose. “

According to the Ukrainian government, about 19,500 children have been deported or violently deported from their homes to Russia or Russia -ruled territories, with about 1,500 returned.

In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for the illegal displacement of children. Russia rejects the accusations, claiming that it has conveyed the children to “protect them” from the war zone.

The return of children is a focal point in Ukraine’s negotiating position for peace.

Following the meeting of Zelenski, Trump and European leaders at the White House on Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Laien wrote on social networks: “The human cost of this war must be over. And that means that every Ukrainian child abducted by Russia must return to his families. “

Von der Laien thanked Trump for “today’s clear commitment to ensure that these children will reunite with their loved ones”.

The post of von der Laien came in response to a post by Trump himself, who stressed that missing children around the world are a matter that is particularly concerned with Melania.

Speaking to the BBC from Kiev, Valerie Krut, 72, and a grandfather of four, said: “There have been so many children who now have neither home nor parents. All Ukrainians feel the pain. “

Student Sofia Muravitska, 19, noted that the correspondence of the first two ladies is “a sign of progress”. “The children of Ukraine are the future of the country,” he added.