WASHINGTON – Vladimir Putin's government has agreed to return Ukrainian children who were taken to Russia as minors and have since turned 18, first lady Melania Trump said in a rare address from the White House, where she highlighted her personal efforts to reunite children with their families.

Trump has held relatively few White House events since her husband returned to office, making her decision to speak out about missing children − who she described as "residing in" or having been "displaced" to Russia − a notable use of her platform.

She said she aimed to facilitate regular reunifications of children with their families until every child is returned home. "As first lady, this is an important initiative for me," Trump said. "It is built on shared purpose and lasting impact."

Tens of thousands of children were forcibly taken to Russia amid Moscow's unprovoked war, the Ukrainian government says. It has been working to bring them back.

"Given the dangers of traversing this war-torn region, their safe return requires coordinated assistance. Accordingly, Russia has agreed to rejoin the individuals who have turned 18 within a short period of time," Trump announced on Oct. 10. "Plans are already underway to reunify more children in the immediate future."

Trump said that eight children affected by the conflict had been reunited with their families in the last 24 hours. Three were separated from their families during the fighting and taken to Russia, she said. Five were separated from family members across borders, she added.

The first lady did not say whether she had negotiated the returns with Putin. Trump appealed to the Russian president in an August letter that her husband hand-delivered to Putin during their Alaskan summit.

"He responded in writing, signaling a willingness to engage with me directly and outlining details regarding the Ukrainian children residing in Russia, " she said on Oct. 10.

Since then, Trump said that she and Putin have had an "open channel of communication" about the welfare of the children. "For the past three months, both sides have participated in several calls, all in good faith," the first lady said.

Trump has also spoken with Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, about the issue and met with her last month at the United Nations.

Ukraine's government estimates that nearly 20,000 children have been abducted and taken to Russia since the war began. Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab, a war crimes investigation group, says the number of children impacted by these forced removals could be as high as 35,000.

The Yale research group said in a September report that Russia was running a "potentially unprecedented" network of brainwashing and militarization camps, where kidnapped kids are kept indefinitely or until they are placed with Russian families who formally adopt them or return them home.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin and a top aide in 2023 for unlawfully deporting children to Russia. Russia's government denies that it is committing war crimes.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: In rare address, Melania Trump says Russia will return Ukrainian children 18 and older

Reporting by Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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