President Donald Trump hand-delivered a handwritten letter from First Lady Melania Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their 15 August summit in Anchorage, Alaska, White House officials said. In the note, Melania Trump urged Putin to end the abduction of Ukrainian children and argued that protecting their innocence would “serve humanity itself,” adding that the Russian leader could act “with the stroke of a pen.” Officials present said Putin read the message immediately after receiving it. The appeal follows Ukrainian claims that thousands of minors have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territories since the 2022 invasion. Kyiv calls the removals a war crime; Moscow says it is safeguarding vulnerable youngsters. When President Volodymyr Zelensky met Trump in Washington on 18 August, the Ukrainian leader thanked him repeatedly for raising the issue and presented a letter from his wife, Olena Zelenska, to the U.S. first lady expressing gratitude for her advocacy. Trump told reporters the first lady’s note had been “very well received” by Putin, though no cease-fire was announced. Later the same day, Trump said he and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had discussed the “massive worldwide problem of missing children,” calling the matter a shared priority with Melania Trump. Von der Leyen wrote that every abducted Ukrainian child “must be returned to their families.”