US First Lady Melania Trump penned what she called a “peace letter” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him that “it is time” to protect children and future generations.
According to Fox News, which obtained the text of the letter, it was hand-delivered by US President Donald Trump to Putin before their high-stakes summit in Anchorage, Alaska, and called on the Russian leader to take responsibility not only for his nation but for humanity as a whole.
“Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center,” the letter began. “They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger.”
In the message, Melania Trump wrote that parents have a duty to nurture children’s hopes and that world leaders carry a responsibility that “extends beyond the comfort of a few.”
She emphasized that each generation begins life with innocence “which stands above geography, government, and ideology.”
The first lady also suggested that despite hardship, some children cling to a “quiet laughter” as an act of defiance against darkness.
“Mr. Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter,” she wrote, adding that protecting children’s innocence would mean serving “humanity itself.”
She closed with an appeal: “Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of the pen today. It is time.”
The letter was presented at the first US-Russia summit since June 2021, when former President Joe Biden met Putin in Geneva. That meeting came only months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier, the Reuters report citing two US officials read that Melania Trump in her letter reportedly urged Putin to end Russia’s deportation of Ukrainian children.
Melania, a native of Slovenia, was not present at the Anchorage summit between President Trump and Putin.
Ahead of Friday’s talks, a bipartisan group of senior US lawmakers introduced a resolution demanding the return of all abducted Ukrainian children before any peace deal is finalized.
As of August 2025, over 1.6 million Ukrainian children remain under Moscow’s control in occupied territories or deported to Russia. Many face forced Russification, militarization, and indoctrination - practices the ICC cites in its arrest warrant for Putin.
Russia claims it is “protecting vulnerable children,” but reports show minors placed in military-style camps, engaged in war games, and pledging loyalty to Moscow.
The UN has accused Russia of causing “immense suffering” to millions of Ukrainian children since its 2022 full-scale invasion.
Moscow’s indiscriminate strikes on civilian targets have also killed thousands of children, including five in a late-July attack on Kyiv that left 31 dead and 159 wounded.