Overview

• Announcing from the White House, the first lady said eight children were repatriated between Russia and Ukraine in the past 24 hours through a direct line to Vladimir Putin.
• She said the channel began after she sent a letter in August and that her representative has since held meetings and calls with Putin’s team focused on child reunifications.
• According to her statement, Russian authorities provided biographies, photographs, and summaries of social, medical, and psychological services for each child involved.
• She said U.S. officials confirmed the data in those materials, a claim cited via the outlet Actualidad RT that was not independently corroborated in the reports reviewed.
• The announced returns represent a small share of the roughly 20,000 minors Kyiv says were transferred to Russia, an issue tied to ICC arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova.