Overview

• President Trump hand-delivered a personal “peace letter” from First Lady Melania Trump to President Vladimir Putin at their Anchorage meeting, calling on him to safeguard children caught in the Russia-Ukraine war.
• Putin opened and read the letter immediately before U.S. and Russian delegations, spotlighting the plight of about 19,500–20,000 Ukrainian children deported or transferred to Russia since 2022.
• The three-hour summit produced no ceasefire or concrete commitments on the return of deported children, and existing International Criminal Court arrest warrants against Putin remain in effect.
• Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said President Zelenskyy conveyed his gratitude to Melania Trump for elevating the issue of abducted Ukrainian children at the highest level.
• Activists and analysts are split on whether the gesture will lead to tangible progress on child returns and accountability or remain a symbolic diplomatic overture.