President Donald Trump handed Russian President Vladimir Putin a personal letter from First Lady Melania Trump during their 15 Aug. summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, White House officials confirmed. The handwritten note, delivered at the opening of the talks, appeals for the protection of children caught in the war in Ukraine. Reuters and ABC News reported that the first lady specifically urged the Kremlin to return Ukrainian minors taken to Russia during the invasion. The one-page message, which closes with the words "It is time," asks Putin to act "with the stroke of a pen" to restore children’s safety and "melodic laughter." Fox News said Putin read the letter immediately in front of U.S. and Russian delegations. Two days later President Trump posted the full text on social media, amplifying its plea and rebutting criticism of the summit’s outcome. While the four-hour Alaska meeting produced no cease-fire, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Moscow signalled for the first time that it could accept a NATO-style security guarantee for Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to follow up with Trump in Washington on 18 Aug. Kyiv estimates that tens of thousands of children have been forcibly relocated to Russia, an action it says meets the UN definition of genocide. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023 over the transfers, keeping the humanitarian issue at the centre of ongoing negotiations.