Trump holds talks with EU President on return of abducted Ukrainian children

WASHINGTON, DC: US President Donald Trump said on Monday (local time) that President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen and he touched upon the topic of missing children in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Trump said that the topic deeply connects with US First Lady Melania Trump, who also penned a letter to the Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the same.

In a post on Truth Social, he said, “Ursula von der Leyen, the distinguished and Highly Respected President of the European Commission, and I have been discussing the massive Worldwide problem of missing children. This is, likewise, a big subject with my wife, Melania. It is a subject at the top of all lists, and the World will work together to solve it, hopefully bringing them home to their families!”

Von der Leyen also called for Russia to return the abducted Ukrainian Children.

In a post on X, she said, “The human cost of this war must end. And that means every single Ukrainian child abducted by Russia must be returned to their families. I thank US President Donald Trump for his clear commitment today to ensuring these children are reunited with their loved ones.”

The human cost of this war must end.

And that means every single Ukrainian child abducted by Russia must be returned to their families.

I thank @POTUS for his clear commitment today to ensuring these children are reunited with their loved ones. pic.twitter.com/bRyS83Sdxr

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) August 18, 2025

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented Trump with a letter from the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska for US First Lady, Melania Trump. This comes as Melania wrote to Putin expressing her concern over the loss of lives of children as a result of the conflict.

“Thank you very much, Mr President, for your personal efforts to help solve this war. I also thank your wife, the First Lady of the United States, for sending a letter to Putin to discuss our children. Additionally, my wife has sent a letter to your wife. I also thank all the partners, France, the EU, Finland, the UK, and Germany for supporting us,” Zelenskyy said.

Trump mentioned that his wife, Melania, had written a letter to Putin, expressing her concern about the effects of the war on children. He joked that Melania loves their son more than him, adding that she feels strongly about the humanitarian impact of the conflict.

“The First Lady felt very strongly. She watched the same thing I watched and you watched. I see things you don’t get to see, and it’s horrible. But she has a great love for children. She has a wonderful son that she loves, probably more than anybody, including me! I hate to say it. But she loves her son and loves children and hates to see something like this happening, and that goes for other wars too,” he said.

Trump said that the funerals and the killing of innocent people in any war hurt Melania.

“She sees the heartbreak, the parents and the funerals you see on television. All these funerals. We want to see something other than funerals. She felt it was a beautiful letter. It was very well received by him and did ask me to say she would love to see this end. She says it very openly, very proudly and with great sorrow because so many people have been killed,” he said. (ANI)