US First Lady Melania Trump has facilitated the return of another child separated from her family during Russia’s war against Ukraine, bringing the number of children reunited through her initiative to 34, the White House announced Monday, Aug. 17.
“There is nothing more powerful than reuniting a mother with her child after an extended period of time,” Trump said.
She said her representative remains focused on securing further reunifications of families separated by the war. The White House did not disclose the child’s identity, age or circumstances of her return.
Melania Trump’s initiative
The effort began after Melania Trump wrote directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin in August 2025 about children separated during Russia’s invasion. President Donald Trump delivered the letter to Putin during their summit in Alaska.
Since then, the First Lady’s office has worked with Ukrainian and Russian authorities to facilitate a series of family reunifications. Five Ukrainian and Russian children were reunited in the previous group announced July 30.
The latest return comes amid the much broader crisis of Ukrainian children deported or forcibly transferred by Russia.
Ukraine’s Children of War portal lists 20,610 children as deported or forcibly displaced since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, with 2,470 returned.
In March 2026, a UN commission concluded that Russia’s deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children amounted to crimes against humanity.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in 2023 for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s children’s rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over the alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied territories.
Kyiv has made the return of all Ukrainian children taken by Russia a central humanitarian demand and continues to press international partners to help bring them home.