Moscow lauds Melania Trump’s ‘vital’ role in reuniting children
Five children from Russia and Ukraine are about to be reunited with their loved ones under an international humanitarian initiative, Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova reported. According to Moscow, the process is being coordinated by US First Lady Melania Trump and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, praised Melania Trump for what he called “a vital global humanitarian and peacemaking role” in helping Russian and Ukrainian children separated from their families reunite with their relatives. “Under her coordination, 33 children have already been reunited with their families,” he wrote in a post on X on Friday, adding that “more reunifications” are ahead.
According to the White House, this is the fifth group of children the US first lady has helped reunite. “This milestone marks another step toward ensuring that innocent kids can safely return to their homes, communities, and the people who care for them,” it said in a statement.
“While diplomacy and peacebuilding are important to this effort, they are surpassed by our collective ability to place children above international disputes,” Melania said, commenting on the reunition.
A five-year-old boy has just arrived in Russia, where he was reunited with his mother, Lvova-Belova said, adding that the child had lived with his father in Ukraine back in 2020. Earlier this year, the boy’s mother learned that his father had died, and Russian authorities helped the family reconnect.
A Ukrainian woman also came to Russia from Germany for her daughter on Friday, according to the commissioner. The girl had been living with her grandmother since 2023.
Three more children are about to reunite with their relatives in Ukraine and Germany.
Another six-year-old boy is about to be reunited with his Ukrainian mother, who has been living in Russia with his grandmother since 2022. A 15-year-old teen, who has been living with relatives in Russia, will also soon go to his mother, who is living in Ukraine, according Lvova-Belova. One more 15-year-old will travel to Germany to live with his older sister, who has requested custody of him.
All the humanitarian efforts are being carried out upon the orders of President Vladimir Putin on the basis of requests of parents or close relatives of the affected children, the commissioner said.
After the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, Kiev accused Russia of ‘kidnapping’ Ukrainian children, but Moscow maintains it has simply evacuated children from the combat zone and relocated them to safety until they can be reunited with their families.
In 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) named Lvova-Belova and President Putin as key suspects in an investigation into the alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of minors during the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has dismissed the claims as politically motivated.
The issue of alleged ‘kidnappings’ was raised during the last year’s talks between Russia’s and Ukraine’s delegations in Istanbul. Following the negotiations, the Russian team stated that Kiev’s representatives had handed them a list of 339 children allegedly moved to Russia, adding that some had already been returned or never been in Russia in the first place.
Last year, Melania Trump revealed her private talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin linked to the initiative to reunite Ukrainian children displaced by the conflict with their families. The two had maintained an “open channel of communication regarding the welfare of these children” for months, she said last October.
Apart from her international advocacy efforts, the US first lady also promotes several other campaigns aimed at improving the lives and well-being of children. During President Donald Trump’s first term, she launched the “Be Best” awareness campaign combating cyberbullying and opioid abuse, among other things. The campaign was launched in 2018 and continued until 2021. In 2025, it was resumed and covered an even broader scope, which now included foster care.
The “Fostering the Future” initiative launched within the campaign during Trump’s second term in office is designed to provide educational opportunities, housing support, and savings accounts for youths in foster care.
