The Chief of Staff of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky – Andriy Yermak, expressed gratitude to US First Lady Melania Trump for her deep concern for the fate of Ukrainian children abducted from Ukraine to Russia, Ukrinform reported, BTA reported.
The US First Lady wrote a letter regarding kidnapped Ukrainian children, which was delivered by Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin during their summit in Alaska, Reuters recalls.
White House officials did not disclose details of the letter's content, but indicated that it mentioned the abduction of children during the war in Ukraine.
The removal of Ukrainian children by Russian forces is a very sensitive issue in Ukraine, Reuters notes. Kiev has called the abduction of thousands of children to Russia or Russian-occupied territories without the consent of their parents or guardians a war crime that meets the UN definition of genocide. Moscow says it is doing so to protect vulnerable children from the war zone.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said Russia has caused suffering to millions of Ukrainian children and violated their rights since the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The “Bring the Children Back to Ukraine” initiative, which is also fighting for the return of abducted Ukrainian children, expressed its gratitude to Melania Trump today.
“We express our deep gratitude to the US first lady for being so deeply concerned about the fate of Ukrainian children. "Every word of support brings them closer to their families, to their settlements and to their homes," the organization said in a statement.