Melania Trump says she is in contact with Putin; 8 Ukrainian children have returned to their families.

Melania Trump says she is in contact with Putin; 8 Ukrainian children have returned to their families.

US First Lady Melania Trump said on Friday local time that Russia has allowed eight Ukrainian children to be reunited with their parents, following months of private talks between Russian officials and the first lady’s office focused on children separated from their families during the war.

The first lady revealed that she and Russian President Vladimir Putin have had an “open channel” of communication since she wrote a letter in August about the impact of the Ukraine war on children.

Melania Trump said eight children had been returned to their families in the past 24 hours, pledging that the two sides would continue to work to bring back more children displaced during the Russia-Ukraine war.

“This is an ongoing effort. Plans are underway to bring back more children in the near future. I hope peace will come soon. It can start with our children,” she said in a brief speech at the White House.

Melania Trump’s comments come as the Trump administration has cut funding for a leading organization that tracks evidence of war crimes, including the forced displacement of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children, CNN reported.

The Ukraine Conflict Observatory was run by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab. It was established in 2022 with support from the U.S. State Department to “collect, analyze, and make available evidence of war crimes and other atrocities committed by Russia in Ukraine.”

The group has produced reports on a range of alleged Russian war crimes, including the extent of Moscow’s efforts to relocate, re-educate, and sometimes forcibly train or adopt Ukrainian children.