Melania Trump made her mark at her husband’s Ukrainian peace meetings without actually being present at all.
The first lady was thanked in a separate X post from Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday night after several references to the 55-year-old absentee during Trump’s meeting with the Ukrainian president and a number of European leaders.
Melania’s involvement in the peace talks began over the weekend, when the Slovenian-born first lady wrote a personal letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The note was hand-delivered by Donald Trump on Saturday. The emotionally charged letter centered on the Ukrainian and Russian children who have been drawn into the ongoing war between the two countries.
While the letter did not directly address the war, it stated that, “some children are forced to carry a quiet laughter, untouched by the darkness around them—a silent defiance against the forces that can potentially claim their future.”
It also asked Putin to “restore their melodic laughter”.
Then, on Monday, in an unexpected plot twist, Zelensky delivered a letter his wife, Olena Zelenska, had written to Melania. During his meeting with Trump, Zelensky referenced Melania’s letter.
“Many thanks to your wife, the first lady of the United States,” Zelensky told Trump. “She signed a letter to Putin about our children.”
He then handed it to Trump, before noting, “It’s not to you, it’s to your wife, a sensitive topic.”
“Oh, I want it,” Trump said with a smile.
The White House flagged the issue of Russian soldiers kidnapping 20,000 Ukrainian children during the war last week, saying it “remains a concern” for President Trump as he headed into the summit with Putin on Friday.
After his meeting on Monday, Zelensky directly thanked Melania for her “attention to one of the most painful and difficult issues of this war,” the Ukrainian children who have been abducted by Russia.
“We deeply appreciate her compassion and her letter to Putin,” the president said in a lengthy post on X. “This issue lies at the heart of the war’s humanitarian tragedy – our children, broken families, the pain of separation. At least 20,000 children were taken.”
Zelensky said of Melania, “Her voice matters, and her care gives strength to this cause. We are working tirelessly to bring every child home.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha hailed Melania’s behind-the -scenes input after Trump’s summit with Putin, saying Zelensky had “conveyed his gratitude... for her sincere attention and efforts to bring forcibly deported Ukrainian kids back. This is a true act of humanism.”
Trump also posted on Truth Social after his meetings Monday, adding that he had discussed the “massive worldwide problem of missing children” with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
“This is, likewise, a big subject with my wife, Melania. It is a subject at the top of all lists, and the World will work together to solve it, hopefully bringing them home to their families!”
On her X account, von der Leyen replied to Trump’s post: “The human cost of this war must end. And that means every single Ukrainian child abducted by Russia must be returned to their families.”
She thanked Donald Trump for his “clear commitment today to ensuring these children are reunited with their loved ones.”
Earlier Monday, Trump said the love of their teenage son Barron led to Melania getting involved in the European summit, even from afar.
“She’s got a great love of children, she has a wonderful son that she loves probably more than anybody, including me—I hate to say it,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
“But she loves her son, she loves children, and she hates to see something like this happening.”
Helping children has been a passion project of the first lady. One of her rare public appearances this year was at the White House in May for the signing of the ‘Take It Down Act’, to protect children from online exploitation.
“AI and social media are the digital candy for the next generation, sweet addictive and engineered to have an impact on the cognitive development of our children,” Melania said at the time.
“But unlike sugar, these new technologies can be weaponized, shape beliefs and, sadly, affect emotions and even be deadly.”
Another Melania Trump program, Be Best, is aimed at steering children away from abusing social media and opioids.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
