Zelensky delivers letter from his wife to First Lady Melania Trump thanking her for efforts to end the war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday presented US President Donald Trump with a letter from the Ukrainian first lady. Zelensky clarified that the message was intended for America’s First Lady, Melania Trump. “My wife, the first lady of Ukraine, she gave the letter. It’s not to you but to your wife,” he said.

During the White House meeting, Trump discussed a separate letter he had hand-delivered to Russian President Vladimir Putin from Melania Trump on Friday, describing it as a personal appeal for peace and an end to the war in Ukraine. Trump’s comments followed his summit with Putin in Alaska last week.

“The First Lady felt very strongly—she’s watched the same thing you and I watch—I see things you don’t get to see, and it’s horrible,” Trump said. “She has a great love of children, she has a wonderful son that she loves, probably more than anyone, including me, I hate to say it," he laughed.

"She hates to see something like this happening. That goes for other wars, too. She sees the heartbreak, funerals you see on television. We want to see something other than funerals. It was a beautiful letter that was very well received by him. She would love to see this end, she says it very openly and very proudly and with great sorrow, because so many people have been killed," he said.

The peace letter was delivered to Putin during the Alaska summit on Friday. The Russian president reportedly read it immediately after receiving it.

“Dear President Putin,” the first lady’s letter began. “Every child shares the same quiet dreams in their heart, whether born randomly into a nation’s rustic countryside or a magnificent city-center. They dream of love, possibility, and safety from danger.”

Melania Trump urged Putin to bring an end to the conflict, emphasizing the welfare of children. “As parents, it is our duty to nurture the next generation’s hope. As leaders, the responsibility to sustain our children extends beyond the comfort of a few,” the letter read.

The first lady continued: “Undeniably, we must strive to paint a dignity-filled world for all—so that every soul may wake to peace, and so that the future itself is perfectly guarded.” She highlighted that children’s innocence stands above “geography, government, and ideology” and wrote that Putin could “singlehandedly restore their melodic laughter” by acting to stop the war.

“Such a bold idea transcends all human division, and you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of the pen today,” the letter concluded. “It is time.”

Trump told Zelensky that the message had been “very well received” by Putin, but he did not elaborate on whether it had influenced ongoing discussions. The Alaska summit marked the latest in a series of talks over possible negotiations to end the war, with Ukraine closely monitoring the outcome.