First Lady Melania Trump and Ukraine’s Olena Zelenska have allied in a campaign to reveal Russia’s extensive, billion-dollar scheme aimed at kidnapping and brainwashing Ukrainian children, according to a spokesperson.
Maksym Maksymov from Bring Kids Back UA stated that Russia’s “calculated” actions are a direct assault on Ukraine’s future. He emphasized that the contrasting positions of the two first ladies amplify the organization’s message.
“Together, they ensure that no kidnapped child is overlooked. Separately, one addresses the issue from the heart of the crisis, while the other shares the message globally,” Maksymov explained to Fox News Digital.
Melania Trump’s recent efforts have shone a spotlight on instances where seven Ukrainian children were reunited with their families. In October, she extended her support to another eight children.
First Lady Melania Trump delivers remarks during a Naturalization Ceremony at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Saul Loeb)
“Melania Trump leverages her influence as both a mother and a public figure to empathetically raise international awareness for children who might otherwise be forgotten,” Maksymov remarked.
“When she speaks, people listen, and she chose to use that influence to highlight the suffering of Ukrainian children directly to the person responsible for their abductions. That takes courage,” he added. “Melania acknowledges their pain, elevates the urgency of bringing these children home, and reinforces a simple truth: that children belong with the people who love them, and their return must be unconditional.”
Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, is working to expose Russia’s billion-dollar operation to abduct and indoctrinate Ukrainian children. (Michael Reynolds/Pool Photo via AP)
Meanwhile, Olena Zelenska, he said, is involved on the ground.
“Our first lady, Olena Zelenska, has been a steady and essential presence in this work. She visits hospitals, shelters, schools and churches across Ukraine, meeting children who have lived through trauma no child should ever experience,” Maksymov explained.
In fact, in response to the work of the organization, Ukraine has since criminalized the deportation of children, their forced militarization and the obstruction of their return.
Melania Trump joins Ukraine’s Olena Zelenska in the fight against Russia’s systematic child abduction program. (Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images; Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Sanctions were also imposed on individuals involved in abductions and illegal adoptions.
It was Melania Trump who also previously wrote a “peace letter” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling him “it is time” to protect children and future generations around the globe, Fox News Digital reported in August.
Ukrainian orphans are seen during a stopover in Warsaw, Poland, en route to the U.K., on March 21, 2022. (Pawel Kuczynski/AP Photo)
President Donald Trump then hand-delivered the message to the Russian leader before their summit in Alaska that month.
But ever since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the illegal removal of children continues to be a concern.
According to Bring Kids Back UA, launched by Zelenska, nearly 20,000 children have been reported taken, although Maksym stresses that “each case requires individual verification because Russia blocks access, hides information and often alters children’s identities.”
So far, he said, “Ukraine has fully verified 9,221 cases,” but thousands more remain unaccounted for.
One example of Russia’s coercive system, he said, is the case of Bohdan Yermokhin, whose experience Ukrainian officials describe in detail.
People and medical staff are seen responding to the missile strike against a children’s hospital in Kyiv. (AP/Anton Shtuka)
“One case that shows both the cruelty of this crime and the resilience of these children is this story.”
After being taken to Russia, “he was pressured to give up his Ukrainian identity and exposed to propaganda aimed at reshaping how he saw his own country.”
His ordeal highlights what Maksym said is Russia’s deliberate “abduction of Ukrainian children as part of a strategy to erase their identity and mold them into something they are not.”
“Russia is spending billions on systems that militarize and indoctrinate these children rather than return them,” Maksym claimed.
“Ukraine’s position is clear. Every abducted child must be returned unconditionally. There can be no peace while even one child remains in Russia’s hands,” he said. “War has taken away their childhood. Children live with bombings, displacement, fear, and the loss of everything familiar. This is calculated. It is systematic, and it is aimed at Ukraine’s future.”
