Melania Trump says eight children reunited with families after talks with Putin

First lady Melania Trump speaking in the Grand Foyer of the White House on Friday (Alex Brandon/AP)

Melania Trump announced on Friday that eight children displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war have been reunited with their families following ongoing talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In August, the first lady wrote to Mr Putin and had her husband President Donald Trump hand-deliver the letter when he held a summit with the Russian president in Alaska.

Mr Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in Russia taking Ukrainian children out of their country so they can be raised as Russian, it is alleged.

The first lady, speaking at the White House on Friday, said that after Mr Putin responded to her letter they established an “open channel of communication” regarding the welfare of those children.

“We have agreed to co-operate with each other for the benefit of all people involved in this war,” she said.

Both sides have participated in several back-channel meetings and calls over the past three months, and one of her representatives has been working directly with Mr Putin’s team to “ensure the safe reunification of children with their families”, she said.

Mrs Trump’s announcement came as Mr Trump’s own efforts to broker an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine have stalled, and he has repeatedly expressed frustration over the setback along with what he describes as his disappointment with Russia’s leader.

The Associated Press documented the taking of Ukrainian children in 2022, after which the International Criminal Court said it had issued an arrest warrant for Mr Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.