The contents of first lady Melania Trump’s letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin have now been revealed, including a plea for the Russian leader to “restore [the] melodic laughter” of children affected by his war in Ukraine.
The first lady, who did not travel to Alaska with her husband for his meeting with Putin on Friday, sent a letter instead, which Fox News has since published, referring to it as her “peace letter.”
While the White House did not respond to a request from the Daily Beast to confirm the letter’s authenticity, the first lady tweeted a link to Fox News’ article, seemingly confirming its accuracy herself.
Before the letter’s contents were revealed, two unnamed White House officials told Reuters that the missive mentioned the mass abductions of Ukrainian children by Russia as part of its ongoing invasion. However, Trump’s message avoids specifics—the word “Ukraine” is not used once—instead opting for flowery language that dances around the subject.
”Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger,” it begins.
”As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope. As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few. Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all—so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded.”
Trump continues, ”A simple yet profound concept, Mr. Putin, as I am sure you agree, is that each generation’s descendants begin their lives with a purity—an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology.”
”Yet in today’s world, 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. Mr. Putin, you can singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter.”
The letter finishes with a final appeal to Putin’s ego, reading, “In protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone—you serve humanity itself. 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 White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for confirmation on the contents of Melania’s letter.
The letter is not the first time the first lady has sought to intervene on Ukraine’s behalf. She has previously convinced her husband to resume supplying weapons to Ukraine, and warned the president that Putin was not negotiating in good faith.
It is widely believed that up to 35,000 Ukrainian children have gone missing since February 2022, held far from home in Russia or Russian-occupied territories after being moved to detention camps or placed with Russian families.
Russia argues that it has taken Ukrainian children in order to protect them from the ongoing conflict. The International Criminal Court has outstanding arrest warrants for Putin and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights for violating the Geneva Conventions by engaging in the unlawful deportation of children.
Russia has rejected previous calls for children to be returned, with one Kremlin official accusing Ukraine of “staging a show on the topic of lost children aimed at kind-hearted Europeans,” adding that Kyiv is trying to “squeeze out a tear by raising this issue.”
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